China defends practice of intercepting U.S. reconnaissance flights
BEIJING — China on Thursday defended its policy of having fighter planes intercept U.S. surveillance flights near its coast, saying it had to protect national security.
Washington resumed such flights Monday after a one-month hiatus following the April 1 collision between a U.S. EP-3E surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea.
Such flights "constitute a grave threat to China’s security," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi.
Chinese jets didn’t challenge the flight Monday by an U.S. Air Force RC-135 off China’s northeastern coast, but Sun said interceptions are "necessary and very reasonable" and in line with international practice.
He urged the United States to "learn from the past" to avoid further incidents.
Earlier, the Pentagon has suggested that the United States may use fighters to escort the reconnaissance planes on their missions.
Officials at Kadena Air Base, from where the reconnaissance planes are departing, would not comment on the possibility of fighter escorts.
As a matter of policy, "our guidance from higher headquarters is we don’t discuss specifics of surveillance or reconnaissance flights," Kadena public affairs officials said Friday. "While we are aware of the media coverage reporting that flights have resumed, it remains our policy not to discuss any details of reconnaissance or surveillance flights, to confirming whether they have taken place."
Kadena officials referred further queries to the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, or to the Pentagon.
The Chinese fighter pilot involved in the April 1 collision is missing and presumed dead. The badly damaged U.S. plane is at a Chinese air base on Hainan island in the South China Sea, where it made an emergency landing.
Sun repeated China’s insistence that Washington won’t be allowed to fly the plane home, though he said that doesn’t mean it won’t be returned.
"Due to the nature of the plane, it will not be allowed to fly back from Hainan to the United States," he said. "The specific means of transporting the plane will be talked about by the sides."
Sun did not elaborate on why China wouldn’t let the United States fly out the plane, which American technicians say could be airworthy after repairs.
Deputy Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Wednesday said flying out the plane would "further hurt the dignity and sentiments of the Chinese people" and prompt "strong indignation and opposition from the Chinese people."
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