On the heels of newly released U.S. military footage of allegedly aggressive behavior by People’s Liberation Army pilots, Chinese state media struck back Sunday with its own videos in an apparent move to point the finger in the other direction.
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The China Central Television (CCTV) footage begins with a clip showing Arleigh-Burke class destroyer the USS Ralph Johnson in close proximity to a Chinese warship somewhere in the South China Sea on August 19. The American destroyer “dangerously interfered with the normal training of Chinese naval vessels,” the video claims, though the Chinese ship appears to be turning starboard to face the other vessel, rather than away from it.
China claims dominion over most of the South China Sea, including waters that fall within the exclusive economic zones of neighboring Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. An international arbitral court in 2016 rejected China’s claim, but Beijing continues to disregard the ruling.
The next CCTV clip allegedly reveals another U.S. destroyer, the USS Milius, “continuously invading China’s territorial waters off the Xisha Islands” in March, using the Chinese name for the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam.
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A third clip, dated December 21, 2022, and also allegedly shot near the contested Paracel Islands, shows a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft flying a short distance behind and to the right of what appears to be a Chinese fighter jet. It is not possible to know which plane approached which from the footage.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Defense released declassified videos and photos showing what it says are People’s Liberation Army fighter jets performing unprofessional— and at times dangerous—maneuvers, making close approaches, and firing flares near American planes in international airspace over the South China Sea. The footage was released ahead of the 2023 China Military Power Report, which the Pentagon prepares each year for Congress.
There have been more than 180 instances of “coercive and risky air intercepts against U.S. aircraft in the region—more in the past two years than in the previous decade,” according to the report. It also counted 100 episodes of similar behavior against U.S. allies and partners. Such behavior “contravenes flight safety protocols,” the report said.
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On Sunday, a Philippine supply boat and coast guard cutter collided with a Chinese coast guard ship and Maritime Militia vessel, respectively. Footage from both sides shows the Chinese ships sailing into the paths of their Philippine counterparts in an effort to prevent them from resupplying a Philippine-occupied shoal in the contested Spratly Islands. China said the Philippines had ignored repeated warnings to leave Chinese waters.
Philippine authorities said nobody was injured and that they are carrying out damage assessments on the two ships.
Last week, a Canadian military patrol aircraft was intercepted by a Chinese fighter while monitoring international waters to enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions. The Chinese plane conducted “multiple close-proximity maneuvers” that “put the safety of all personnel involved at unnecessary risk,” a spokesperson for Canada’s Department of National Defense said.
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Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense and Chinese foreign ministry with requests for comment.
