Beijing Intercepted US Spy Plane As Per China-US Treaty

China intercepted an US surveillance plane in Chinese airspace near Hainan Province as per the treaty signed with US, a Chinese military spokesperson said.

In response to the US accusation of two Chinese aircraft of performing unsafe maneuver when they intercepted the US surveillance plane while it was flying in the air space near Hainan Province, Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was quoted by Chinamil as saying in a press conference Thursday, “Accusation made by the US side is groundless. The US spy plane flew close to the airspace of China’s Hainan Island for espionage. The Chinese military aircraft conducted identification and verification in accordance with relevant regulations and rules. Their maneuver was in line with professional standard, and accorded with the Rules of Behavior for Safety of Air and Maritime Encounters signed by China and the US.”

“What needs to be pointed out is that the US always likes to distort facts and draw media attention to the distance between the military aircraft of the two sides. But in essence, the root cause for security hazards and potential accidents in the air and at sea between China and the US is the long term, large-scale and frequent close-in reconnaissance activities against China by the U.S. military vessels and aircraft. China urges the US to stop the close-in reconnaissance activities to avoid such incidents from happening again,” he added.

In mid-air encounter, China acted as per treaty with US regarding