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A US helicopter and fighter jet separately crashed in the South China Sea, with the incidents occurring 45 minutes apart and coinciding with a visit by President Donald Trump to Asia.
A Sea Hawk helicopter went down about 2.45pm on Sunday (Monday AEDT) “while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz,” the US Navy said in a post on X. A navy official said no details on the location of the carrier would be provided due to operational security.
The carrier strike group was in the South China Sea region on the final leg of its deployment before heading back to the US West Coast, according to US Naval Institute News, which tracks carrier groups.
Then, at about 3.15pm, an F/A-18F Super Hornet also crashed, the US Navy said on Monday, adding all five people involved in the accidents were safe and investigations were under way. It was unclear where the incidents occurred, and no details have been released yet for the suspected causes of the incidents.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Beijing opposes the US military presence in the South China Sea, saying it destabilises the region. China claims nearly the entire area, where it has built numerous artificial islands. Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also claim parts of the sea and have sparred with Beijing over where the boundaries fall.
Trump’s visit includes stops in Malaysia as well as Japan and South Korea, which are both US allies. During the visit, US and Chinese trade negotiators agreed on handling a range of contentious points, setting up Trump and Xi Jinping to finalise a deal during a meeting scheduled for later in the week.
