China is claiming that the United States sent a spy plane into a no-fly zone over an area where the Chinese military was conducting drills.
China’s Defense Ministry said Monday that the alleged incident could have caused misjudgment or led to an “unexpected incident” between the two countries. The ministry said that the U-2 reconnaissance plane flew over an area in the country’s north where it was conducting live-fire exercises and said the incident was “seriously interfering in normal exercise activities,” according to Reuters.
“It was an act of naked provocation, and China is resolutely opposed to it, and have already lodged stern representations with the U.S. side,” the ministry said. Despite the accusation, China did not say where exactly the incident is believed to have occurred.
“China demands the U.S. side immediately stop this kind of provocative behavior and take actual steps to safeguard peace and stability in the region,” it said.
Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs told the Washington Examiner later on Tuesday that the U.S. military did not violate any international rules in operating aircraft in the region.
“A U-2 sortie was conducted in the Indo-Pacific area of operations and within the accepted international rules and regulations governing aircraft flights. Pacific Air Forces personnel will continue to fly and operate anywhere international law allows, at the time and tempo of our choosing,” PACAF said in a statement.
The accusation comes at a time of tension between the two global powers. President Trump and others in his administration have blasted China over its initial response to the coronavirus pandemic and have accused the country of downplaying the gravity of the health crisis at its outset.
