A Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of a US Air Force B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea on Tuesday, according to the US military.
The Chinese pilot “flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner, demonstrated poor airmanship by closing with uncontrolled excessive speed, flying below, in front of, and within 10 feet of the B-52, putting both aircraft in danger of collision,” US Indo-Pacific Command said in a Thursday statement. “We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision.”
News of the latest Chinese intercept comes as President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he visits the White House on Friday, CNN reported on Thursday. It is not clear whether the meeting will be a formal discussion or a more informal meet and greet. Wang is also expected to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday.
how dare China fly a plane in checks notes the South China sea
You mean in international airspace over international waters?
Ah but it has “China” in its name so it should all belong to China! Taps forehead
Checks map
Oof, Taiwan, the Philippines, and parts of Japan amongst others are not going to be happy to learn this.
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Inshallah we will all be one, someday.
A hemispheric common market with free trade and open borders. An EU of the Americans.
But did you checks notes???!?
note checking intensifies
How is this fundamentally different from the US with aircraft carriers?
Well for one we aren’t flying those aircraft carriers within an unsafe distance from other…vessels
US ships and aircraft follow international law and don’t endanger others with illegal maneuvers. You’re allowed to be there, you’re not allowed to try to almost hit (and in multiple cases actually hit) someone else that is allowed to be there.
Right, the Chinese are forbidden to fly planes there but Americans may of course do so, great logic my friend /s
The Chinese are absolutely allowed to fly planes there. What is against international law is unsafe intercepts and flying within 10 feet of another aircraft.
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But there’s so many fazolis! Which one, which one had the $3 handhobs?
Yeah, we really do need to crack down on sex workers.
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For some context, the South China Sea is a giant sea between China, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and a few others. Currently, China is pushing for what it calls the “Nine-Dash Line” policy which would in effect forcibly blockade all other ASEAN nations from trading.
Imagine if Italy claimed the entire Mediterranean Sea including the coastline of other nations, then prevented others from trading under the threat of military invasion. That’s basically what China is trying to do here.
So… Rome.
MARE NOSTRUM INTENSIFIES
There’s flying, and the there’s flying like a moron. No matter where you are, in your own air space or someone else’s, flying like a moron is a terrible idea.
Traveling within 10 feet of another vehicle where the speeds are measured as a percentage of the speed of sound (Mach) is definitely flying like a moron.
Not always, I fly 10 feet away from another plane all the time. The difference is we planned it from the beginning and are both actively participating.
And you practice doing that with those pilots.
True, but that is well planned, both pilots probably meet before the flight, I think, and actually discuss the whole routine including the distance, because unexpected turbulence and a dozen other factors can throw the plan off, whereas fighter jet meets B-52 without any plan or possibly even contact, at 400+ knots is a bad idea.
Absolutely, intercepts have prescribed international standards that must be observed to ensure safety of flight. I was just commenting that it’s not always a bad idea if done correctly.
This happened in international airspace. Doesn’t matter what the body of water is called. The entirety of the gulf of Mexico doesn’t belong to Mexico either. Nor does the Indian ocean belong to India.
Also the China Sea was originally named by the Portuguese.
No, no, his logic is sound. The Atlantic Ocean will hereby be renamed the East American Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean will hereby be renamed the West American Ocean. The South China Sea will hereby be renamed the West West American Ocean. The Indian Ocean will hereby be renamed the South West American Ocean.
Checkmate, China
Solid proposal. Approved!
How many signatures do we need ?
By that logic the Atlantic Ocean belongs to Atlanta
And the Pacific Ocean belongs to the PAC-12 conference
Soon it’ll be reorganized and become The Bigten Ocean.
And for some stupid reason 1/6 of it will now be part of the Atlantic.
You checking your China ‘this is totally all mine’ new map in your notes? The 9 dash line is hand drawn and totally arbitrary, and is basically saying ‘this is mine now.’
Also known as the Vietnamese East Sea, Malaysian Champa Sea, Indonesian North Natuna Sea, and Philippines Luzon Sea.
As long as they don’t go anywhere in the Indian Ocean.