A heated air confrontation almost occurred between the United States and China after a Chinese fighter jet and a warship equipped with an attack payload intercepted a US Navy aircraft over the South China Sea, which is witnessing a struggle for influence between Beijing and Washington.

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Edited by| Hugh Gey

Castle Journal  - Asia section

Feb 25, 2023 - South China Sea

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The confrontation took place on Friday, over the South China Sea, 30 miles from the disputed Paracel Islands, which contain military bases, and during which a tense dialogue took place between the crews of these weapons.

Journalists from CNN, who were on board the American reconnaissance plane, reported that Chinese pilots contacted the commander of the American plane, telling him: "don't get too close to it, or take all the responsibility".

The Chinese plane was loaded with "air-to-air" missiles, and apparently, they got close enough to engage easily, and the Chinese plane accompanied the American plane for a full 15 minutes before moving away from it by leaving the area, as journalists observed.

After the plane moved away, its crew was surprised by the appearance of a Chinese missile destroyer following them, and the aircraft commander, Lieutenant Slaughter, said that the warship was loaded with dozens of surface-to-air missiles, and communicated with us, telling us: "you are approaching me at low altitude, reveal your intention, you are endangering my safety.

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"The American aircraft will maintain a safe distance," slaughter replied to the ship.

The South China Sea is a major point of tension that has emerged over the years, in the Asia-Pacific region, between China on the one hand, and the United States and its allies in the region on the other, for overlapping reasons:

Paracel island, near which the US plane was intercepted, is the subject of territorial claims by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

This region contains a strategic waterway with huge resources of fish, oil, and gas, and about a third of the world's shipping worth 3.4 trillion dollars passes through it.

China says it has historical jurisdiction over almost the entire vast sea, and since 2014 has erected small coral reefs and sand barriers on artificial islands heavily fortified with missiles, runways, and weapons systems, angering other claimants.

In recent months, the South China Sea region has been witnessing maneuvers and counter-maneuvers, carried out by China on the one hand, and the United States and its allies on the other, to assert presence and influence.