The Cable News Network (CNN) Breaking News claimed on the morning of August 10 that a US warplane with a CNN journalist aboard flying over the South China Sea that day was warned by the Chinese military plane six times.
However, Yang Yujun, former spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) and currently the head of the Academy of Media and Public Affairs, Communication University of China, said this is obviously not breaking news but a show jointly made by the US military and the CNN.
According to the CNN report, during the flight, the crew received six warnings in total from the Chinese military, telling them they were inside Chinese territory and urging them to leave. “Leave immediately and keep out to avoid any misunderstanding,” the Chinese military said.
“The last time CNN was given access to a US Navy mission over the South China Sea was in September 2015, when the aircraft was also warned off by the Chinese military,” the CNN said. “Since then, Beijing’s island building in the contested waters has moved forward at a rapid pace.”
Yang Yujun said, the US military’s provocation over the South China Sea together with the US media this time comes as China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries made major progress in the negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. "It is obvious that the US intends to make a mess of the South China Sea situation, mess up the COC, and wreck China’s relations with the countries surrounding the South China Sea," Yang added.
As for the so-called “six warnings to the US warplane by the Chinese military”, Yang said, "The US had known how China would respond. The border and coastal defense units of any sovereign country would do the same and even react more fiercely."
He continued, “Since the US warplane arrived without invitation, flying over Chinese airspace, why cannot China issue a warning? If a Chinese warplane flew over Hawaii, how would the US military react?”
Yang mentioned particularly that the US President Trump has defined the CNN as “enemy of the people” reporting “fake news”, yet the US miltary still chose the CNN to hype up tensions in the South China Sea. Have they ever considered the sentiments of their president?
Disclaimer: The author is Guo Yuandan and Liu Yang, reporters with the Global Times. The article is translated from Chinese into English by the China Military online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article are those of the author from the Global Times and do not reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinamil.com.cn does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. If the article carries photographs or images, we do not vouch for their authenticity.
