Last week, a Chinese fighter jet reportedly approached within 20 feet of a US Air Force plane in the South China Sea, demonstrating China’s strong military posture.
According to US Indo-Pacific Command, a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft had to take evasive action on December 21 to avoid colliding with a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy J-11 fighter jet.
According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, 71 Chinese airplanes were observed flying around Taiwan, doing military exercises, four days after the near-miss between the Chinese fighter jet and the American Air Force plane.
China claims sovereignty over the vast majority of the South China Sea, which it disputes with Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and others. China’s People’s Liberation Army has become more forceful in the area, which contains some of the world’s busiest commercial maritime channels, in recent years.
China, according to the PLA, was conducting a strike drill in the area.
Early in November, Chinese Communist President Xi Jinping vowed that his government will prioritize war preparations.
The communist leader raised security worries, warning that the situation was becoming increasingly chaotic and unknown.
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