PLA reveals US-China military encounter off Hong Kong day before January 6 Capitol riot
- Submarine hunting aircraft flew as close as 150km off Hong Kong, prompting classified counter action by Chinese military, report says.
- Sensitive location and timing of the ‘dangerous’ incident could have been seen as strongly provocative to Beijing
China and the US became locked in an intense military confrontation as close as 150km from Hong Kong in early 2021, prompting the US to destroy its own floating sonars to prevent them from falling into Beijing’s hands, it is revealed for the first time.
The report said the PLA, which was conducting a naval exercise in the area, responded swiftly by sending out a counter force, the size and nature of which remains classified.
The two forces were so close that the US military “self-destroyed” its floating sonars to prevent the sensitive devices from falling into China’s hands, said the report, published by the Chinese-language journal Shipboard Electronic Countermeasures on April 25.
The team, led by Liu Dongqing with PLA Unit 95510, said the US activities were a severe challenge to China’s national security. “In a time of war, this could pose a detrimental threat to our submarines carrying out critical missions,” the study said.
