A dramatic video of a passenger aircraft ‘narrowly escaping being hit by a missile’ has been shared by a news portal, sparking security concerns in the South China Sea.
A report by Eurasian Times said the plane was flying over the South China Sea when the pilot was issued an emergency alert by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to “turn left 90 degrees immediately” to avoid being hit by the missile.
The report cited a video shared by a Twitter user @jchovernut, in which a projectile can be seen emerging from the sea’s surface. Eurasian Times said that the clip was recorded from a Boeing 777 belonging to the Cathay Pacific airlines. However, the airline has declined the occurrence of any such incident.
The article further said the actual date and location of the video’s shooting is yet to be determined. The video was shared on Twitter on May 25.
On Friday (May 27), news agency AFP cited the China maritime authority as saying that it will hold naval exercises in the South China Sea on Saturday.
The United States has issued several warnings over China’s growing military and economic presence in an area spanning from the South China Sea to the Pacific Islands on multiple occasions. China has said that its cooperation with Pacific Island countries “does not target any country” and rejected claims that it is pressuring small states into security agreements, news agency AFP reported.