US-China Tensions Escalates As American Warplanes Approach Shanghai, 12th Day In A Row

The development has come a day after it was reported that P-8A (Poseidon) anti-submarine plane and an EP-3E reconnaissance planes were operating near the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian on Sunday.

Photo: File

The ongoing tensions between the two countries continues to escalate at a heated level as US warplanes on Monday again approached the Chinese mainland, indicating tussle and threat to China. According to the reports, US Navy P-8A entered Chinese mainland, near Shanghai which is recorded the closest any US planes have come to mainland China in recent years. A PTI report quoted the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, a Peking University think tank which claimed that the P-8A along with the USS Rafael Peralta, a guided-missile destroyer, came within 76.5km of Shanghai. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that this was the 12th day in a row that US military planes have approached the mainland coast. The development has come a day after it was reported that P-8A (Poseidon) anti-submarine plane and an EP-3E reconnaissance planes were operating near the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian on Sunday. The two nuclear powers are currently locked in a tit-for-tat battle with each over closure of consulates. Last week, Washington gave China 72 hours and ordered it to shut down the the consulate in Houston, Texas, which it said was “to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information. US accused China of being involved in a larger Chinese espionage effort using diplomatic facilities around the US. In response to this, China said that it has taken the control over US consulate in Chengdu after it was formally closed as per Beijing's directive. The national flag of the United States was lowered at the US Consulate General in Chengdu early on Monday morning, reports stated.