The Biden administration is condemning a series of aggressive sea and air intercepts by China’s military, characterizing them as unjustified and unprofessional.
A Chinese fighter jet aggressively intercepted a U.S. aircraft over the South China Sea last week. That incident was shortly followed by a similar encounter between U.S. and Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait.
In both incidents, the Chinese vehicle cut close across the nose of the American one in an apparent attempt to intimidate it into altering course.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby described the incidents as “unacceptable,” and said they were part of a broader pattern of increasing aggression by China’s communist regime.
“These are part and parcel of an increasing level of aggressiveness by the [Chinese] military, particularly in the areas of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.”
“Sadly this is just part of a growing aggressiveness by [China] that we’re dealing with and we’re prepared to address it.”