CHINA INTERCEPTS UNARMED U.S PLANES:WHY U.S SHOULD DEPLOY F 22 & F 35?
INTRODUCTION:\r
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China has been very aggressive in its posturing in recent past. From threatening its neighbors, to rejecting the decision of Hague tribunal on South China Sea dispute, its behavior has been outright provocative.\r
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China has reclaimed thousands of acres of land in disputed islands and is building military infrastructure on them.\r
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Chinas projects have moved at a brisk pace, with reports of new military installations appearing every few weeks. \r
Earlier this month, a state-run Chinese paper said that Beijing had installed 155 mm rocket launchers on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys Island, reportedly to deter combat divers from Vietnam.\r
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China has also deployed anti-aircraft missiles in Woody Island.\r
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Not only that, China is now starting to intercept unarmed U.S planes in international airspace.\r
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In this video, Defense Updates looks at two such incidents in the first 2 points, and then analyzes why US should deploy F35 and F 22 Raptor in the vicinity of South China Sea.\r
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WC 135 INTERCEPTION\r
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The WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft is designed to detect radioive debris and collect other atmospheric and weather-related data. One has been deployed in the Asia-Pacific in anticipation of North Korean nuclear test.\r
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Two Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Su-30 fighters intercepted the unarmed aircraft over the East China Sea.\r
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The Chinese jets came within 150 feet of the US plane, with one of the Su-30s flying inverted, or upside down, directly above the American plane. The incident reportedly took place in international airspace.\r
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P-3 ORION INTERCEPTION\r
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The US P-3 Orion surveillance plane was 150 miles (240 km) southeast of Hong Kong in international airspace when the Chinese aircraft carried out an unsafe intercept.\r
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The Pentagon said that two Chinese aircraft conducted an unprofessional intercept of the P 3 Orion over the South China Sea, marking the second time in about a week that the US has complained about unsafe Chinese operations in the region.\r
As per reports, one of the Chinese J-10 fighter jets flew about 200 yards in front of the US P-3 aircraft and about 100 feet above it, doing slow turns. The second Chinese fighter remained about 750 yards off the P-3s right wing.\r
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F35 AND F 22 RAPTOR\r
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The two interceptions have been made against unarmed US aircrafts in international airspace. Deploying F35 & F 22 will provide the following strategic paybacks:\r
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1. Clearly signal China that U.S intent of not backing down, and is ready to raise the bar. F35 and F 22 have state of art technologies, and bringing them into table will show the resolve of US in dealing with China.\r
2. Chinas response to the deployment of F35 & F22 will provide insight to US about how far Beijing is willing to take these provocative behaviors further. Intercepting these frontline fighter jets is a totally different ball game as compared to intercepting an unarmed aircraft.\r
3. This will provide much need assurance to countries like Japan, Taiwan about US presence in the region and its intent in taking on China.
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China has been very aggressive in its posturing in recent past. From threatening its neighbors, to rejecting the decision of Hague tribunal on South China Sea dispute, its behavior has been outright provocative.\r
\r
China has reclaimed thousands of acres of land in disputed islands and is building military infrastructure on them.\r
\r
Chinas projects have moved at a brisk pace, with reports of new military installations appearing every few weeks. \r
Earlier this month, a state-run Chinese paper said that Beijing had installed 155 mm rocket launchers on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys Island, reportedly to deter combat divers from Vietnam.\r
\r
China has also deployed anti-aircraft missiles in Woody Island.\r
\r
Not only that, China is now starting to intercept unarmed U.S planes in international airspace.\r
\r
In this video, Defense Updates looks at two such incidents in the first 2 points, and then analyzes why US should deploy F35 and F 22 Raptor in the vicinity of South China Sea.\r
\r
WC 135 INTERCEPTION\r
\r
The WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft is designed to detect radioive debris and collect other atmospheric and weather-related data. One has been deployed in the Asia-Pacific in anticipation of North Korean nuclear test.\r
\r
Two Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Su-30 fighters intercepted the unarmed aircraft over the East China Sea.\r
\r
The Chinese jets came within 150 feet of the US plane, with one of the Su-30s flying inverted, or upside down, directly above the American plane. The incident reportedly took place in international airspace.\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
P-3 ORION INTERCEPTION\r
\r
The US P-3 Orion surveillance plane was 150 miles (240 km) southeast of Hong Kong in international airspace when the Chinese aircraft carried out an unsafe intercept.\r
\r
The Pentagon said that two Chinese aircraft conducted an unprofessional intercept of the P 3 Orion over the South China Sea, marking the second time in about a week that the US has complained about unsafe Chinese operations in the region.\r
As per reports, one of the Chinese J-10 fighter jets flew about 200 yards in front of the US P-3 aircraft and about 100 feet above it, doing slow turns. The second Chinese fighter remained about 750 yards off the P-3s right wing.\r
\r
F35 AND F 22 RAPTOR\r
\r
The two interceptions have been made against unarmed US aircrafts in international airspace. Deploying F35 & F 22 will provide the following strategic paybacks:\r
\r
1. Clearly signal China that U.S intent of not backing down, and is ready to raise the bar. F35 and F 22 have state of art technologies, and bringing them into table will show the resolve of US in dealing with China.\r
2. Chinas response to the deployment of F35 & F22 will provide insight to US about how far Beijing is willing to take these provocative behaviors further. Intercepting these frontline fighter jets is a totally different ball game as compared to intercepting an unarmed aircraft.\r
3. This will provide much need assurance to countries like Japan, Taiwan about US presence in the region and its intent in taking on China.