China Aggressively Intercepted US Military Aircraft 180 Times in 2 Years, Pentagon Says

This image from video shows an intercept of a U.S. military plane by Chinese fighter jet over the Pacific Ocean on May 24, 2022. (Department of Defense via AP)

Chinese warplanes have aggressively intercepted more than 180 U.S. military aircraft over the past two years, a number that’s more than all the hostile intercepts during the previous decade combined, the Pentagon says.

The Chinese regime’s “coercive and risky operational behavior” in the Indo-Pacific risks open conflict between the world’s two largest economies, according to Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs.

“In many cases, this type of operational behavior can cause accidents,“ Mr. Ratner said during an Oct. 17 press briefing. ”Accidents can lead to inadvertent conflict.”

If aggressive intercepts of U.S. allies and partners are included, Mr. Ratner said, the number of CCP-initiated incidents over the past two years would rise to more than 300.

The Chinese regime’s “unsafe and unprofessional” behavior threatens to undermine a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” Mr. Ratner said. The United States, he added, would continue its lawful military regional presence, which predates the existence of the CCP by nearly 100 years.

“The United States will not be deterred or coerced,” he said.

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“Our forces have helped maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for decades and will continue to do so every day.”

CCP Risking War

The Pentagon has said that Beijing’s campaign of military coercion is part of a wider effort to undermine the rules-based international order.

To that end, the issue of CCP aggression in the Indo-Pacific is of increasing concern to the international community, as Chinese fighter pilots have sought to force allied aircraft out of the sky and gone so far as to launch metal shards into their engines.

Complicating the issue is that the CCP, under leader Xi Jinping, has systematically closed off all commander-to-commander communications with the U.S. military in the region.

Adm. John Aquilino told reporters on Oct. 17 that he had sent innumerable requests for communication to his Chinese counterparts during his 2 1/2 years as commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

“I have yet to have one of those requests accepted,” the admiral said.

The Biden administration had previously linked the severing of regional communications with the CCP to the visit of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. Adm. Aquilino’s statement, however, means that such communication was cut more than a year earlier.

The combination of the CCP’s aggression and communications blackout means that the United States and China are at increased likelihood of coming to open conflict, the admiral said.

“As the joint force commander, I’m most concerned about the potential for accidents,” he said. “The region has gotten more dangerous, and we’re watching that very closely.”

Adm. Aquilino has said he has two key missions to fulfill in the Indo-Pacific. The first is to deter a war with China and maintain peace within the Indo-Pacific.

And, he added, “If mission one fails, be prepared to fight and win.

“That said, my forces are ready to fight and win today.”