Concern over confrontation as both sides accuse each other
Print Edition
FOLLOWING reports of its navy warning off a US surveillance plane, China said yesterday it was entitled to keep watch over airspace and seas surrounding artificial islands it has created in the waters of the South China Sea.
At a regular daily briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated China’s indisputable sovereignty over the islands it has created by piling sand on top of atolls and reefs.
While saying he had no information about the reported exchange, Hong said that China was “entitled to the surveillance” over related airspace and sea areas so as to maintain national security and avoid any maritime accidents.
“We hope relevant countries respect China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea, abandon actions that may intensify controversies and play a constructive role for regional peace and stability,” Hong said.
A news crew from CNN reported that it had witnessed an incident on Wednesday in which a Chinese navy dispatcher demanded eight times that a US Air Force P8-A Poseidon surveillance aircraft leave the area as it flew over the reefs where China has conducted reclamation work.
It said the US crew responded that they were flying through international airspace, to which the Chinese dispatcher answered: “This is the Chinese navy ... You go!”
CNN said it was on board the surveillance flight because the US wants to raise awareness of China’s island building. It said it was the first time the Pentagon had declassified audio of Chinese challenges.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week asserted China’s sovereignty to reclaim the reefs, saying China’s determination to protect its interests was “as hard as a rock.”
China has also said it had every right to set up an Air Defence Identification Zone in the South China Sea.
Such zones are used by some nations to extend control beyond national borders, requiring civilian and military aircraft to identify themselves or face possible military interception.
During the P8-A mission, the pilot of a Delta Air Lines flight in the area spoke on the same frequency after hearing the Chinese challenges, and identified himself as a commercial aircraft.
The Chinese voice reassured the pilot and the Delta flight went on its way, CNN said.
Some security experts worry about the risk of confrontation, especially after a US official said last week that the Pentagon was considering sending military aircraft and ships to assert “freedom of navigation” around the Chinese-made islands.
Both sides have accused the other of operating dangerously, prompting fears of an incident like the 2001 collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a US surveillance plane in which the Chinese pilot was killed and the American crew were detained on China’s Hainan Island.
Meanwhile, the Chinese air force announced its latest offshore training exercises in the western Pacific as part of efforts to boost its combat preparedness. An air force spokesman said they followed an initial offshore drill held last month.
In its report on the drills, state broadcaster CCTV showed a video of Xian H-6 twin-engine bombers, a Chinese version of Russia’s Tupelov Tu-16, in flight and landing at an air base, although it wasn’t clear when the video was shot.
The aircraft returned to base after successfully completing the drill, which aims to “level up the PLA Air Force’s mobility and combativeness” over the high seas, a spokesman said.
The drill is not targeted at any particular country or regions, Shen Jinke said. It is a routine exercise included in the air force’s annual training plans and conforms to the practices of other maritime nations, Xinhua news agency reported.
“In line with international laws and practices, offshore drills by the PLA Air Force beyond the First Island Chain will proceed in consideration of actual situations,” Shen said.
The First Island Chain refers to islands that stretch from Japan in the north to the Philippines to the south.
In Tokyo, Japan’s defense ministry said it scrambled fighter jets against two Chinese H-6 bombers that flew over those waters, but there was no entry into Japan’s airspace.
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