YOG kicks off in Nanjing
Colorful life at Youth Olympic Village of Nanjing 2014 YOG
Royal Taoist temple to open to public
Female soldiers at quake-hit area
Shocking photos of cruel battles in Ukraine
Amphibious armored vehicle unit conducts open sea drill
Water relay in Henan
Ethnic culture feasts eyes of travelers
80 security dogs assembled in Nanjing police dog training base
Graffiti artists paint on street walls in Xinjiang
BEIJING, Aug. 28 -- The Chinese Defense Ministry has accused the U.S. military of "close-in reconnaissance" in China's airspace in response to U.S. criticism of a Chinese jet intercepting a U.S. Navy patrol plane last Tuesday.
"The site of the incident is 220 km from China's Hainan Island, rather than the same distance from Hawaii or Florida of the United States," ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said at a regular news briefing on Thursday.
It is not "a Chinese intercept" but "U.S. close-in reconnaissance."
The Pentagon had claimed that China's meeting of its plane was "dangerous."
"What I need to stress is that the U.S. side has kept talking about the technical issues like the distance between the two aircraft, but ignored a policy issue of highly frequent close-in reconnaissance activities against China," Yang said.
According to the spokesman, one U.S. anti-submarine plane and one patrol aircraft flew into airspace about 220 km east of China's Hainan Island on the morning of Aug. 19, at which point a Chinese fighter jet took off to identify the aircraft in a standard operation.
Special holidays
World's top 10 fighters
'Stewardesses' serve in hospital
Beautiful night scenery of Nanjing
‘Peace Mission -2014’ joint anti-terror military exercise kicks off in China
Eye-catching guides at the opening ceremony of YOG in Nanjing
A female missile launch company of PLA
China, the U.S., Britain and the Soviet Union call for Japan's unconditional surrender
The biggest duty-free store of the world
Volunteers bid farewell to YOG
More police dogs join anti-terror campaign in Inner Mongolia
Picturesque Dayilan Manchu village in NE China
Athletes experience the charm of Chinese traditional opera in Nanjing
Contestants for Miss Bikini World experience Chinese traditional cultureDay|Week|Month