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China condemned America’s “disruption to regional peace and stability” Monday, hours after a U.S. Navy helicopter and fighter jet crashed into the South China Sea.
U.S. Pacific Fleet said the crew members of an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter were rescued and did not sustain any injuries. Both aircraft crashed within 30 minutes of each other Sunday. It was the latest in a string of high-profile mishaps this year involving U.S. military aircraft and the F/A-18 specifically.
President Trump and other top administration officials were in Asia. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday after attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Malaysia. Mr. Trump is also meeting with a host of other key Asian leaders.
America’s military presence in the South China Sea is now at the forefront as the high-stakes meetings unfold. The sea is a strategically vital waterway that is increasingly the scene of Chinese military provocations against the Philippines over island disputes.
Asked about the twin U.S. aircraft crashes, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson blasted U.S. military activity in the region and gave a snarky offer to help rescue American personnel if needed.
“China is willing to provide necessary assistance in a humanitarian spirit if requested by the U.S. side,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing. “I need to stress that the U.S. aircraft crashed while conducting military drills in the South China Sea. The U.S. has been flexing muscles by frequently sending military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea. This is the root cause of security issues at sea and disruption to regional peace and stability.”
The U.S. military routinely operates in the region and has rejected Chinese sovereignty claims over international waters in the theater.
Mr. Trump addressed the aircraft crashes while speaking to reporters on Air Force One. The president said “bad fuel” may be to blame. As of Monday afternoon, no further details on the cause had been disclosed.
“They think it might be bad fuel. We’re going to find out. Nothing to hide. We’ll find out,” Mr. Trump said.
In social media posts, the Pacific Fleet said the Seahawk helicopter went down at 2:45 p.m. Sunday while conducting routine operations.
“Search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11 safely recovered all three crew members,” Pacific Fleet said.
Thirty minutes later, Pacific Fleet said, the F/A-18 went down in the South China Sea. Both crew members on the fighter jet ejected and were found by Carrier Strike Group 11 search and rescue personnel, the Pentagon said.
Pacific Fleet said both incidents were under investigation. Both aircraft took off from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
Several F/A-18 have been involved in high-profile military accidents over the past several years.
In April, an F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the hangar deck of the USS Harry S. Truman and fell into the Red Sea. A month later, another F/A-18 fighter jet landing on the carrier in the Red Sea went overboard after apparently failing to catch the steel cables used to stop landing planes. Its two pilots were forced to eject.
In December, the American guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired on and hit an F/A-18 aircraft over the Red Sea. The mistaken shoot-down seems to have happened during U.S. airstrikes targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Other aircraft have been involved in other significant incidents in recent years.
In 2023, an Air Force CV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan, killing all eight service members aboard. Investigators said it resulted from a “catastrophic failure” of the troubled craft’s gearbox and the pilot’s decision not to land immediately in response to warnings in the cockpit.
Also in 2023, an F-35 fighter jet flew unmanned for 11 minutes before it crashed in rural South Carolina after investigators said the pilot prematurely ejected from the aircraft.
Last October, two Navy aviators died in a jet crash near Mount Rainier in Washington.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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