US-China rivalry: PLA flights over South China Sea ‘no threat’ to American ships, US military says

‘Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group closely monitored all PLA Navy and air force activity, and at no time did they pose a threat to US Navy ships, aircraft or sailors,’ Pacific Command says

Taiwan reported earlier that several Chinese air force aircraft flew into its air defence identification zone last weekend

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The USS Theodore Roosevelt (pictured at a naval base in Guam last year) monitored the activity of the PLA flights over the South China Sea, the US Navy said. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:53pm, 30 Jan 2021Updated: 9:22pm, 30 Jan 2021

The US said on Friday that Chinese military flights in the past week in the South China Sea fit a pattern of destabilising and aggressive behaviour by Beijing but posed no threat to a US Navy aircraft carrier strike group in the region.

“The Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group closely monitored all PLA Navy and air force activity, and at no time did they pose a threat to US Navy ships, aircraft or sailors,” the US military’s Pacific Command said in a statement.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chinese aircraft did not come within 250 nautical miles (460km) of the US vessels.

Taiwan reported that several Chinese air force aircraft – including fighter jets and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers – flew into the southwestern corner of its air defence identification zone last weekend, near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

Regional security and diplomatic sources familiar with the situation said China’s air force was dispatched on missions beginning midmorning on January 23, coinciding with the US carrier group passing south of the Pratas.