The US military has carried out its threat to fly over contested islands in the South China Sea, in a dramatic escalation of tensions over the Chinese government’s land reclamation in the area.
A US Navy surveillance jet was warned to turn away by the Chinese navy as it approached Fiery Cross Reef, according to a CNN team that was invited aboard the flight. “This is the Chinese navy,” the English-language transmission said, according to an account by CNN on Thursday morning. “Please go away . . . to avoid misunderstanding.”
The P8-A Poseidon aircraft passed over the reef, where Chinese construction teams are building an airfield and other installations, at about 15,000 feet on Wednesday afternoon.