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Videos show Chinese planes coming with 20 feet of US fighter jets and 'flashing their weapons'
- Chinese jets are seen shooting flares, flashing weapons and flying dangerously close to US planes at 'hundreds of miles an hour'
- Chinese pilots have sworn at US airmen over the radio when confronted about their actions, according to the Pentagon
- There have been 180 instances of such risky behavior since Fall 2021
PUBLISHED: 06:45 BST, 18 October 2023 | UPDATED: 06:45 BST, 18 October 2023
One video from June 22 shows a PLA fighter jet flying just 40 feet away from a US asset flash its weapons. When challenged the Chinese pilot reportedly swore at the US pilots over the radio
Chinese planes have been filmed flying as close as 20 feet from US jets in what has been branded 'risky and coercive' behaviour
They also form part of what US officials believe to be a 'centralized and concerted campaign' to challenge American operations in Indo-Pacific region.
One shocking video from July 12 shows a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jet deploying eight flares just 900 feet from a US plane above the East China Sea.
Another taken on July 7 shows a Chinese plane hovering just 20 feet away from a US asset above the South China Sea.
Similarly, a video captured on February 15 shows a PLA plane a mere 70 feet away. The aircraft is so close the US pilot is able to clearly film the Chinese pilot opposite.
One of the most flagrant incidents took place on June 22 and involved a PLA 'flashing its weapons' at a US pilot before swearing at them over the radio.
In a description, the Pentagon said the Chinese asset was 'approaching a distance of just 40 feet before repeatedly flying above and below the U.S. aircraft and flashing its weapons.
'After the U.S. operator radioed the PLA fighter jet, the PLA pilot responded using explicit language, including an expletive.'
And in May, US pilots caught the moment they were shunted around their cockpit after a Chinese jet buzzed past the nose of their plane.
The clip shows the PLA jet approaching at speed in the distance before zooming past the front of the US plane.
The maneuvers forces the US pilots to fly through the Chinese jet's wake turbulence which causes the cockpit to shudder and jolt.
The incidents have been classed as 'coercive and risky' which sits below 'unsafe and unprofessional' in the classification scale, which is used when behavior puts lives at risk.
But Head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. John Aquilino said a subset of the 180 instances have been 'unsafe and unprofessional.'
He said: 'What we've seen since 2021 is a set of actions that have brought airplanes much closer together than are comfortable for those in the cockpit.'
He highlighted a 2001 accident in which a Chinese fighter collided with a U.S. Navy spy plane, forcing the American plane to make an emergency landing in China.
The crash killed the Chinese pilot and left the American crew temporarily detained.
'People's lives are at risk,' Aquilino said. 'One accident is too many. We went through it in 2001.'
Assistant Defense Secretary for the Indo-Pacific Ely Ratner described how PLA jets have flown dangerously close to the US assets at 'hundreds of miles an hour'. He called the incidents a 'significant concern'.
Discussing the figures he said: 'That's nearly 200 cases where PLA operators have performed reckless maneuvers or discharged chaff or shot off flares or approached too rapidly or too close to U.S. aircraft — all as part of trying to interfere with the ability of U.S. forces to operate safely.'
PLA jets have been flying close to US planes at 'hundreds of miles an hour' according to Assistant Defense Secretary for the Indo-Pacific Ely Ratner
He added that the figure rises to around 300 when intercepts against other allied aircraft are taken into account.
Ratner said: 'The bottom line is this type of operational behavior can cause accidents, and dangerous accidents can lead to inadvertent conflict.'
It comes amid mounting tensions between the US and China, which were evidenced back in June when Chinese officials declines a meeting between defense chief Li Shangfu and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Singapore.
And relations around airspaces have been particular strained since the US shot down a suspected Chinese spying device in February.
The Chinese government insisted the aircraft was a weather balloon that was blown off course and refuted any suggestion they were spying.
The videos and images have been declassified ahead of the annual Chinese Military Power Report the Pentagon submits to Congress.
The report is expected to detail the soaring levels of Chinese harassment against US assets.
Video shows 15 'risky' encounters by Chinese planes with US jets
The Pentagon has released 15 videos of 'risky' behavior by Chinese pilots against US jets in the last year including firing flares, flashing weapons and flying dangerously close to US assets.
