US Department of Defense officials view the dangerous maneuvers of Chinese fighter jets intercepting US and allied aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region as Beijing's attempts to put pressure on Washington. This was reported by the Pentagon press service.
According to Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Indo-Pacific Eli Ratner, this practice is a "centralized and coordinated campaign" by Chinese officials aimed at "forcing changes in legitimate US operational activities."
"Since the autumn of 2021, we have seen more than 180 such incidents: more in the last two years than in the decade before that," he said.
The Pentagon claims that nearly 200 times, Chinese army operators have made reckless maneuvers, fired flares, or approached "too fast or too close" to American aircraft.
Navy Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, noted that the vast majority of intercepts between the armed forces of different countries are conducted without incident, but China's behavior is worrisome.
The Pentagon called on China to stop conducting such risky maneuvers and stated that the American side would not allow pressure on its forces.The US Department of Defense has also published videos of some of these intercepts.
