On Sunday afternoon, October 26th, two aircraft accidents occurred in the South China Sea, involving a U.S. Navy helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Pacific Fleet on the X platform, “Around 2:45 PM local time, an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter belonging to the HSM-73 ‘Battle Cats’ helicopter squadron crashed in the South China Sea while conducting routine missions.”
The statement continued, “Following this incident, at around 3:15 PM local time, an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet belonging to the VFA-22 ‘Fighting Redcocks’ squadron also crashed into the South China Sea while on a routine mission from the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.”
Five crew members were involved in the two accidents, with three on the helicopter and two on the fighter jet. All crew members were safely rescued, and their conditions are currently stable.
The accidents are still under investigation, and details regarding the weather conditions during the missions, potential mechanical issues, and the nature of the tasks have not been disclosed.
Both operations originated from the USS Nimitz, the oldest active aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, currently deployed in the Indo-Pacific region as part of the 11th Carrier Strike Group.
There is increasing concern in the international community over China’s provocative actions in the South China Sea, particularly its maritime activities towards the Philippines.
The South China Sea serves as a crucial trade route with annual maritime trade exceeding $3 trillion. China claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, but the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ruled that China’s expansive maritime claims in the region lack legal basis under international law.
Earlier this month, tensions escalated between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, with Chinese vessels ramming a Philippine ship and using water cannons.
U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott condemned China’s actions near Thitu Island in the South China Sea on October 13, where Chinese vessels rammed and attacked ships belonging to the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources with water cannons.
A U.S. statement declared, “We stand with our Philippine allies against dangerous actions by China that undermine regional stability. China’s broad territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea, and its increasingly aggressive actions to assert them at the expense of its neighbors, continue to destabilize the region and violate its previous commitments to peacefully resolve disputes.”
Pigott reiterated in the statement the applicability of Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty to “armed attacks against Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft (including its coast guard) in the South China Sea.”
(Translated and rewritten based on a report from English Epoch Times)