Article in the Times:-
Beijing up in arms over US spyplane sorties
Intro:-
Beijing has accused the United States of “naked provocation” by sending a high-altitude surveillance plane to spy on exercises involving one of China’s aircraft carriers.
China has officially complained about the “trespass” of the U-2 spy plane during naval exercises this week. Reports from Hong Kong said that the U-2 flew from a US base in South Korea over the Bohai Gulf and monitored firing exercises conducted on Tuesday by vessels including China’s flagship aircraft carrier, Shandong.
According to a Chinese government think tank, a different reconnaissance aircraft, the RC-135S, also flew across the South China Sea today.
“This was a naked act of provocation,” Wu Qian, a spokesman for China’s defence ministry, said. “It seriously interfered in normal exercise activities. It seriously violated the code of safe behaviour for air and sea between China and the US and international norms. It could easily have led to misjudgment, or could even cause accidents in the sea and air.