US spy plane enters no-fly zone during Chinese live-fire naval drill
- Beijing lodges formal protest with Washington over ‘serious violation’ of safety code and warns of potential mishaps
- United States says flight was within international rules and pledges that missions will continue
The US has sent spy planes over a live-fire Chinese military drill – including a U-2 which entered a declared no-fly zone – triggering a protest from Beijing and heightening the risk of an armed conflict.
The development followed weeks of increased US activity in the region, with numerous military jets and vessels deployed to keep a close watch on Chinese activity.
The Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative said a US Air Force RC-135S reconnaissance aircraft flew across the South China Sea on Wednesday, during the Chinese military drill. But it said it appeared the plane was on a transfer, rather than a reconnaissance mission.
02:32
Washington’s hardened position on Beijing’s claims in South China Sea heightens US-China tensions
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said a U-2 reconnaissance jet flew without permission over the no-fly zone in the PLA’s northern military region, where the live-fire drills were taking place.
“It seriously interfered in normal exercise activities. It seriously violated the code of safe behaviour for air and sea between China and the US and international norms. It easily leads to misjudgment, or could even cause accidents in the sea and air,” Wu said.
“The move was an obvious provocation. China firmly opposes such provocative actions and has lodged solemn representations with the US side.”
A source close to the Chinese military said the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft came from a military base in South Korea, and flew over the Bohai Gulf where the Chinese aircraft carrier the Shandong was taking part in the exercise.
China’s Maritime Safety Administration said live-fire exercises were being conducted in waters off the country’s northeastern coast, stretching from the Bohai Gulf to the Yellow Sea.