US tracks down highly sensitive F-35 wreckage in China Sea
In this image taken on January 22, 2022, the aircraft carrier 'Carl Vinson' (front) and the aircraft carrier 'Abraham Lincoln' can be seen as they transit the Philippine Sea to begin maneuvers in the South China Sea south, one of the main points of friction between Chinese and Americans in the region.
AFP - LARISSA T. DOUGHERTY
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
It's a race against time for the US Navy in the South China Sea.
A high-tech F-35 fighter jet has been at the bottom since Monday and the US military is trying to recover it from this area claimed by China.
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With our correspondent in Washington,
Guillaume Naudin
The accident happened on Monday when an F-35C, the flagship of the American naval aviation, crashed while landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier
Carl Vinson
, deployed in the area to meet Chinese claims on the sea from southern China.
Six sailors were injured and the pilot was able to eject before the aircraft fell into the water.
At the bottom of the sea, there are now 100 million dollars worth of high-tech equipment, the development of which was long, difficult and expensive.
If China ever managed to get their hands on it, it would be a mine of information for them.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry assures that his country is not interested in the wreckage and instead encourages the countries concerned, i.e. the United States, to stop
flexing their muscles
and to encourage stability in the region.
The Chinese navy on the spot
Given Beijing's maritime claims, the
Chinese navy
is very present on the spot and submarines could find the wreckage before the Americans, whose rescue ship could take ten days to arrive in the area.
As the authorities in Beijing note, this is not the first time that an F-35 has fallen into the water.
The last time was in November on another aircraft carrier, British this one, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The wreckage was recovered a few weeks later.
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United States
Defense
China