DM Monitoring
BEIJING: China has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side after a U.S. destroyer continuously conducted close reconnaissance of the normal exercise and training of China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier formation in relevant waters, Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a press conference on Thursday.
Mr. Wu Qian said activity by U.S. military ships and surveillance planes directed at China has increased significantly under President Joe Biden’s administration.
As an example, Wu Qian said the Navy destroyer USS Mustin recently conducted close-in observation of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and its battle group.
That had “seriously interfered with the Chinese side’s training activities and seriously threatened the safety of navigation and personnel on the both sides,” Wu said. The ship was warned to leave and a formal protest was filed with the U.S., he said.
Activity by U.S. military ships was up 20% and by planes 40% in Chinese-claimed areas since Biden took office in January over the same period last year, Wu said.
“The U.S. frequently dispatches ships and planes to operate in seas and airspace near China, promoting regional militarization and threatening regional peace and stability,” Wu said at a monthly briefing held virtually. China routinely objects to the U.S. military presence in the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety, as well as the passage of Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait.
The country recently marked the 20th anniversary of the collision between a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese navy fighter near the Chinese island province of Hainan that resulted in the Chinese pilot’s death.
