Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated on October 27 that Beijing had “taken note of the relevant information” regarding the incidents involving a U.S. fighter jet and a helicopter that went down over the South China Sea last weekend. “If the U.S. side requests assistance, China stands ready to provide necessary support based on humanitarian principles,” Guo said.
He also criticized the frequent presence of U.S. warships and aircraft in the region, calling it “the main source of maritime security risks that undermine peace and stability.”
U.S. officials have not yet commented on Beijing’s remarks. In recent years, the U.S. military has routinely conducted freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, which Washington considers a lawful response to Beijing’s excessive and unlawful territorial claims.
The incidents involved an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 and an F/A-18F Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 22 — both assigned to the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier. The two aircraft went down about 30 minutes apart while conducting operations over the South China Sea on October 26.
All five crew members from the two aircraft were rescued safely and are in stable condition. The U.S. Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) said the accidents occurred separately and are under investigation but did not disclose the carrier’s exact location at the time.
It remains unclear whether the Navy plans to recover the wreckage. The U.S. Navy has experienced several serious incidents in the South China Sea in recent years. In January 2022, an F-35C stealth fighter crashed into the deck of the USS Carl Vinson during landing and fell into the sea. The aircraft was later recovered from a depth of nearly 3,800 meters.
In another incident, the USS Connecticut — one of the Navy’s three Seawolf-class nuclear submarines — collided with an uncharted underwater mountain in October 2021 while operating in the region. Eleven sailors were injured, and the submarine suffered severe bow damage, forcing it to surface and return to Guam for repairs. The overhaul is expected to take more than four years, with the vessel slated to rejoin the fleet by late 2026.