At the same time that U.S. President Donald Trump is heading toward war against Iran, he is also stirring up military tensions with China. An incident over the Yellow Sea involving U.S. F-16s on Feb. 18 set off alarm bells in both Beijing and also in Seoul. According to a Feb. 20 report by Yonhap, 10 U.S. Forces Korea F-16 fighter jets took off from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek late Feb. 18 and flew over international waters in the Yellow Sea, maneuvering toward airspace between South Korea’s and China’s air defense identification zones (ADIZ). The aircraft reportedly operated in areas between the Korea ADIZ and China’s ADIZ, in the airspace where the two zones do not overlap.
As the U.S. aircraft approached, China scrambled fighter jets to the area, resulting in a brief standoff. However, neither side is believed to have violated the other’s ADIZ, and the situation did not escalate.
Yonhap notes that the deployment of a significant number of USFK Air Force assets near the Chinese ADIZ is considered unusual, prompting interpretations that the exercise may have been aimed at signaling deterrence toward China. The drills come amid growing speculation that Washington may seek to adjust USFK’s role as it shifts focus toward countering China and encourages allies to assume greater responsibility for regional security.
Military sources told Yonhap on Feb. 21 that South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back lodged a complaint in a call with U.S. Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of the Combined Forces Command and the United States Forces Korea (USFK), immediately after he received a report of the Feb. 18 incident. Gen. Jin Yong-sung, the chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, also lodged a complaint in a call with Brunson, added Yonhap.
China is not known to have any official statement on the incident, but military experts interviewed by China’s daily Global Times said the U.S. move may be aimed at creating tension during the holidays, while the PLA’s high-level combat readiness, once again, demonstrates the PLA’s firm resolve to safeguard national security. “U.S. military operations in the Yellow Sea usually serve two purposes: first, to conduct close-in reconnaissance in an attempt to monitor and grasp China’s maritime, aerial and land military developments; second, to exert strategic pressure and maintain a military deterrence posture against China by approaching China’s territorial seas and airspace,” military expert Zhang Junshe told the Global Times on Feb. 20.
At roughly the same time as the incident over the Yellow Sea, U.S. B-52 bombers conducted a joint aerial exercise over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea with Japanese fighter jets. “This bilateral exercise reaffirms the strong will between Japan and the U.S. not to tolerate unilateral changes to the status quo by force. This also demonstrates the readiness of JSDF [Japanese Self-Defense Forces–ed.] and U.S. Armed Forces and further strengthens the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance,” the Japanese military said in a press release.
USNI News notes that normally U.S. bombers exercise with Japanese fighters in response to North Korean missile launches, but there have been no such launches in recent weeks.
