In a stark reminder of the growing volatility in East Asia, China’s state broadcaster CCTV aired footage on August 1 showing a tense mid-air encounter between a Chinese military helicopter and what it claims was a U.S. Navy aircraft over the Taiwan Strait. The footage, released on the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), depicts what Chinese authorities describe as a high-stakes standoff with a suspected American MH-60R Seahawk helicopter—an aircraft widely employed by the U.S. Navy for sea-based operations.
Though the U.S. Department of Defense has remained silent on the incident, Chinese state media was quick to characterize the interaction as yet another violation of Chinese territorial airspace, asserting that the foreign aircraft was forced to withdraw after a prolonged and tense aerial engagement.
The dramatic video released by CCTV showed a Chinese Changhe Z-10 attack helicopter in close proximity to what appears to be an MH-60R Seahawk. According to Chinese pilot Kong Xianghui, the suspected U.S. helicopter entered an area approximately three miles from Chinese-claimed territorial waters in the Taiwan Strait. Speaking to CCTV, Kong claimed he repeatedly issued radio warnings before maneuvering his Z-10 into a defensive position.
At one point, Kong reported that the foreign helicopter disappeared into cloud cover, only to suddenly re-emerge and approach his aircraft from the left side. The aircraft eventually veered off course at an estimated distance of just 500 meters—a proximity that aviation analysts say is considered dangerously close for military aircraft operating in disputed or congested airspace.
“The maneuver was highly unprofessional and clearly meant to provoke,” Kong said in the interview. “We won’t tolerate this kind of behavior near our doorstep.”
CCTV hailed the encounter as a successful demonstration of Chinese air power and quick tactical response, claiming the foreign aircraft was “expelled from a considerable distance.” The footage was accompanied by triumphant music and patriotic narration, reinforcing its symbolic importance as part of a larger domestic narrative.
The timing of the video’s release was no coincidence, analysts suggest. August 1 marks the anniversary of the founding of the PLA, a date often used by Chinese authorities to project strength and national unity.
Su Tzu-yun, a senior fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told Newsweek that the broadcast was “aimed squarely at a domestic audience,” underscoring the PLA’s readiness and resolve. Su also noted a key operational detail: the Chinese pilot in the video identifies as part of the army aviation corps, not the navy—indicating that the incident likely occurred under the jurisdiction of the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, which covers Taiwan and adjacent waters.
The U.S.-made MH-60R Seahawk, derived from the UH-60 Black Hawk, is a versatile ship-based helicopter used primarily for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and surface surveillance. It is typically deployed aboard U.S. Navy destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers operating across the Indo-Pacific region.
While South Korea has also ordered a batch of MH-60Rs, the helicopters are not scheduled to become operational until 2026. This effectively rules them out of involvement in the August 1 incident, leaving the United States as the most likely operator of the aircraft in question.
The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, which oversees operations in the western Pacific, maintains a robust presence in the area and frequently conducts what it describes as “freedom of navigation” exercises through international waters, including the Taiwan Strait.
The incident comes amid escalating aerial and naval tensions throughout East Asia in 2025. A pattern of increasingly aggressive interactions between China and foreign militaries has been observed in multiple hotspots, including the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and the East China Sea.
In June, Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party claimed that 46 Chinese military aircraft crossed the informal median line of the Taiwan Strait in a single day—a record figure that many analysts linked to recent naval transits by British and Japanese vessels and a high-profile visit by U.S. lawmakers to Taipei.
In February, a Chinese Navy Z-9 helicopter intercepted a Philippine surveillance aircraft near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The aircraft was carrying journalists and flying only 700 feet above sea level when the Chinese chopper reportedly closed in to within three meters. The Philippines called the encounter “blatantly hazardous,” prompting a strong rebuke from U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson.
By May, CCTV reported that Chinese military helicopters had intercepted foreign aircraft over the East China Sea 11 times in 10 days—some encounters allegedly came within 10 meters, a dangerously narrow margin for fast-moving rotorcraft.
In July, Japan and China traded accusations after a Chinese JH-7 fighter bomber reportedly made several “unusual approaches” toward a Japanese YS-11EB surveillance plane on consecutive days. Beijing countered by claiming Japanese aircraft had entered its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) without notification.
The Taiwan Strait, a mere 80 miles wide at its narrowest point, is one of the most geopolitically sensitive waterways in the world. It separates the Chinese mainland from Taiwan, a democratic island of 23 million people that Beijing considers a breakaway province. Though the U.S. does not officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, it opposes any use of force to alter the status quo and continues to arm the island under the Taiwan Relations Act.
Under international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), waters up to 12 nautical miles from a state’s coastline constitute its territorial sea, while the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) gives rights to economic resources but does not permit control of passage. Military vessels are allowed “innocent passage” through territorial waters provided they refrain from combat operations or intelligence gathering.
The United States asserts that the Taiwan Strait is international water, and it has regularly sailed destroyers through it to affirm that principle. China, while refraining from declaring the strait as internal waters, insists that military operations by foreign powers near its coast threaten its sovereignty and must be curtailed.
China’s military signaling has intensified in recent years as the PLA modernizes its forces and asserts its claims more aggressively. The use of military media, such as high-resolution intercept footage and pilot interviews, has become a key component of this strategy.
The August 1 footage was framed as a “high-stakes aerial standoff” by the Global Times, a hawkish state-backed tabloid known for its nationalist tone. CCTV’s narration echoed themes of discipline, vigilance, and the readiness of Chinese forces to repel foreign intrusions. The message: China is not just watching, it is actively policing its near seas.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has continued its routine transits through the Taiwan Strait. The USS William P. Lawrence, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, last sailed through the strait in April 2025. The vessel is equipped with two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters—the same model spotlighted in the most recent Chinese broadcast—making it a possible candidate involved in the encounter.
Military analysts warn that these kinds of close encounters significantly raise the risk of unintended escalation. With helicopters and jets sometimes flying within meters of one another, the margin for error is razor-thin. A miscalculation or technical malfunction could quickly turn a routine patrol into a diplomatic crisis—or worse, a deadly exchange.
The 2001 EP-3 incident remains a sobering precedent. That year, a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft collided mid-air with a Chinese J-8 fighter near Hainan Island, killing the Chinese pilot and forcing the U.S. crew to make an emergency landing. The ensuing standoff lasted nearly two weeks and severely strained U.S.-China relations.
Today, with both nations boasting more advanced air assets and greater military confidence, the stakes are arguably even higher.
So far, the U.S. has declined to comment on the August 1 encounter, likely to avoid inflaming tensions further. But the pattern is clear: as China ramps up its territorial enforcement efforts, U.S. and allied forces are pushing back with equally visible assertions of international navigation rights.
Neither side shows any inclination to back down, and the flashpoints are multiplying—from the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to the East China Sea and beyond.
As the U.S. prepares for its 2026 presidential election, and China edges closer to its centennial goals for national rejuvenation, military tensions are almost certain to intensify. For now, the skies over the Taiwan Strait remain contested and perilous, a mirror of the broader geopolitical struggle unfolding beneath.
