CNN: China Warns US Surveillance Plane

Local Editor

The Chinese navy issued warnings eight times as a US surveillance plane swooped over islands that Beijing was using to extend its zone of influence.

The series of man-made islands and the massive Chinese military build-up on them had alarmed the Pentagon, which was carrying out the surveillance flights in order to make clear the US did not recognize China's territorial claims. The militarized islands had also alarmed America's regional allies.

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell told CNN that the confrontation indicated there was "absolutely" a risk of the US and China going to war sometime in the future.

Furthermore, the P8-A Poseidon, the US military's most advanced surveillance aircraft, flew at 15,000 feet [4,500 meters] at its lowest point, CNN said.

The incident, along with recent Chinese warnings to Philippine military aircraft to leave areas around the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, suggested Beijing was trying to enforce a military exclusion zone above its new islands.

However, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said he was not aware of the incident.

"China has the right to engage in monitoring in the relevant airspace and waters to protect the country's sovereignty and prevent accidents at sea," ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a regular briefing. "We hope the relevant country can earnestly respect China's sovereignty in the South China Sea."

Moreover, footage taken by the P8-A Poseidon and aired by CNN showed a hive of construction and dredging activity on the new islands the plane flew over, as well as Chinese navy ships nearby.

Accordingly, Asia's rising power China claimed sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also had overlapping claims.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week asserted Beijing's sovereignty to reclaim the reefs, saying China's determination to protect its interests was "as hard as a rock."

China had also said it had every right to set up an Air Defense Identification Zone [ADIZ] in the South China Sea but that current conditions did not warrant one.

ADIZs are used by some nations to extend control beyond national borders, requiring civilian and military aircraft to identify themselves or face possible military interception.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team