Tensions between Washington and Beijing in the South China Sea continue to rise, as the US now maintains a regular naval presence in the waters and constantly flies spy planes near China’s coast.
According to a Chinese think tank, a US spy plane made an unusually close pass to China’s eastern coast on Tuesday, and several US military aircraft deployed to the South China Sea while Beijing was conducting live-fire exercises in recent days.
The South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said a US Air Force RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft came within 40 nautical miles of the Chinese city of Qingdao, where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s North Sea Fleet is based. The closest-ever US flight to China recorded by the SCSPI came last month when the think tank tracked a US Air Force RC-135U that came within 25.33 nautical miles of the Chinese coastline.
The SCSPI said two US military aircraft also patrolled the South China Sea on Wednesday. The SCSPI has recorded a significant uptick in US military flights in the region over the past year, as the US has been increasingly focused on confronting China.
US warships are also keeping a close eye on the PLA. A video posted to Chinese social media by a South China Sea fisherman showed the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning conducting exercises near the Paracel Islands while being shadowed by a US warship. Experts told Newsweek that the US ship was likely an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer.
Earlier this month, the US Navy released a photo of officers on board the USS Mustin, which is a guided-missile destroyer, while it was shadowing the Liaoning in the Philippines Sea.
Oh yes! The Chinese military military might has encircled us! We are doomed!
Satellites spy all over the world, including China. Spy planes are ’50s technology. This is just another blatant provocation to get the Chinese to fire the first shot. Seems so obvious. US business doesn’t want to compete with China or Russia, so they want to go to war to get them out of the world financial markets. Swine in the West want it all, and are willing to start WWIII to get it all.