The number of risky or reckless maneuvers conducted by Chinese military pilots near U.S. aircraft in the Asia-Pacific over the last two years has dramatically increased, according to U.S. defense officials.
“Since the fall of 2021, we have seen more than 180 such incidents,” Ely Ratner, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, said on Tuesday. "More in the past two years than in the decade before that. That's nearly 200 cases where [People's Liberation Army] operators have performed reckless maneuvers, or discharged chaff or shot off flares or approach too rapidly or too close to U.S. aircraft."
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The number of these incidents over the same period, when expanding the scope to include Chinese military risky behavior toward U.S's allies aircraft as well, increases to 300.
The Department of Defense released on Monday a collection of videos and still images depicting 15 recent instances where Chinese pilots had conducted "coercive and risky" maneuvers that date back to January 2022. In some instances, the Chinese pilot can be seen coming within less than 30 feet from the U.S. aircraft.
"The department will continue to raise awareness about the dangers of the PLA as coercive and risky operational behavior," Ratner added. "We will also continue to seek open lines of military-to-military communication with the PLA at multiple levels, including the senior most level, because we believe these channels are crucial for preventing competition from inadvertently veering into conflict. Finally, the United States will not be deterred or coerced."
Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, said he's "most concerned about the potential for accidents," which "could lead to miscalculation."
Ratner also noted that the Chinese military's aggression also extends to the maritime domain in both the East China Sea and South China Sea.
The disclosure of these incidents comes ahead of the military's release of its congressionally mandated 2023 "Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China,” also known as the China Military Power Report.
Ratner said the report will describe the Chinese air force's behavior as "a centralized and concerted campaign," and he added, "Let me say that again: a centralized and concerted campaign to perform these risky behaviors in order to coerce a change in lawful U.S. operational activity and that of U.S. allies and partners. We've also witnessed PLA pilots deliberately interfere with and create turbulence for us operators by flying in front of U.S. aircraft at close distances."
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China's military has infrequently responded to U.S. requests for communications between senior leaders as the relationship between the two adversarial nations soured due to a variety of events, including the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental United States and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) trip to Taiwan, which infuriated Beijing officials, last year.
“I’ve asked to speak with my counterparts, the eastern and southern theater commanders now, going on two and a half years,” Aquilino said on Tuesday. “I have yet to have one of those requests accepted.”