China’s military warned a US Navy surveillance pilot to stay out of Chinese airspace on Friday, amid rising tensions between the two powers.
The US plane was 30 miles outside of Chinese airspace over the South China Sea. However, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) agent warned him to return and addressed the US pilot in a radio call, said CNN, whose reporter was on board the US plane at the time of the incident.
“American planes, Chinese airspace is 12 nautical miles. Don’t get any closer or you have full responsibility,” said the voice over the radio.
Lt. Nikki Slaughter, who was piloting a US Navy P-8 jet, immediately responded to the warning as a Chinese plane armed with air-to-air missiles was approaching them.
“PLA fighter jet, this is the US Navy P-8A,” Slaughter said. “I have you off my left wing and I intend to continue west. I ask you to do the same, over.”
The Chinese military did not respond to Slaughter’s claim, but the Asian pilot continued to escort the American plane for 15 more years from a few hundred feet away.
The tensions did not stop there, however, as further on, in a part of the disputed region near the Philippines, Slaughter’s plane spotted a PLA Navy guided-missile destroyer warship. Descending to 1,000 feet to take a closer look, she again received warnings.
“American planes. American planes. This is Chinese naval warship 173. You are approaching me at low altitude. State your intention,” a voice said on the radio.
Slaughter replied that he would keep a safe distance, but the Chinese ship replied: “American aircraft. American planes. This is Chinese naval warship 173. It is clearly endangering my safety. You are clearly endangering my safety.”
The lieutenant had to respond again by pointing out that she was flying a US military plane, so she will keep a safe distance from her unit.
The recent mishap occurs amid increased tensions between the governments of China and the United States over the detection of a spy balloon that was destroyed earlier this month off the coast of South Carolina.
With information from the New York Post