Pacific Perspective:Chinese Fighter Jet Harasses Air Force Recon Plane

On 21 December 2022,a US Air Force Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft was intercepted by a Chinese People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF) J-11BH fighter jet over the South China Sea,U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said in a statement on 29 December.The intercept occurred in international airspace,where the RC-135 was free to operate,but the J-11BH performed an unsafe manoeuvre,flying in front of and within 20 feet of the RC-135's nose.Thus the Rivet Joint had to undertake evasive action to avoid colliding with the PLANAF aircraft.USINDOPACOM stated that: We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific Region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law.* China has an expansive view of its control over the South China Sea (SCS).According to the U.S. Department of State,the People's Republic of China (PRC) asserts unlawful maritime claims in most of the SCS: In recent years,the PRC has stepped up its coercive activities in the South China Sea by increasing its deployment of maritime militias that operate alongside PRC law enforcement and military to harass and intimidate other claimant states...the U.S. stands with Southeast Asian claimant states seeking to defend their sovereign rights and interests consistent with international law reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.* PRC's claims include the Paracel Islands;Spratly Islands;Scarborough Shoal;plus reefs PRC is building up into artificial militarised islands.Other countries making SCS claims are Brunei;Malaysia;the Phillippines;Taiwan;and Vietnam.* The RC-135 V/W Rivet Joint supports theatre and national level command authorities with near real time,on-scene intelligence collection,analysis and dissimenation.Its onboard sensor suite permits the aircrew to detect,identify and geolocate signals (SIGINT) thorughout the electromagnetic spectrum.It can then forward the information via the Rivet Joint's extensive communications suite.A crew of more than 30 includes cockpit crew;Electronic Warfare officers;intel operators;and in-flight maintenance technicians.It has a digital glass cockpit configuration.All Rivet Joint airframe and mission systems modifications are carried out by L3Harris Technologies Inc. overseen by Air Force Materiel Command.* The PLANAF Shenyang Aircraft Corporation J-11BH is an evolved Russian Sukhoi Su-27 aircraft,NATO codeword "Flanker-L."Comparable to the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet,it is mounted with PL-8 and PL-12 air-to-air missiles for intercept missions.The PLANAF had 40 J-11BH and 32 J-11BSH (NATO codeword Flanker-L+) as of 2018.* Boeing (BA),L-3Harris Technologies Inc (LHX)