China Takes Swipe at US After Deadly Osprey Crash

The Foreign Ministry in China rubbed salt into American wounds on Tuesday after its spokesperson took a question about the recent deadly V-22 Osprey crash and used it to criticize the U.S. military's presence in Japan.

"The U.S. military, while professing that it safeguards the region's peace and stability, has behaved unscrupulously under the protection of exterritoriality. While professing it protects the security of allies, the U.S. has become a source of insecurity for its allies," said Wang Wenbin.

At least 30 American military personnel have died in five helicopter, and two tiltrotor aircraft crashes this year. Eight U.S. Air Force troops were killed in the latest accident during a training exercise in one of the service's most versatile airframes.

Wang's response, however, spoke to broader, long-running tensions in the U.S.-China relationship, particularly as it relates to Beijing's unease over Washington's robust chain of alliances—with Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines—on its doorstep.

U.S. policymakers, meanwhile, believe China has embarked on a concerted effort to shift the balance of power in Asia in its favor through coercive military activities, and it aims to undermine the U.S.-led alliance system in the process.

As of 2020, U.S. forces in Japan had a troubling record of more than 6,000 criminal acts over 800 air accidents in the southwestern Okinawa prefecture, Wang said, citing local government figures. Okinawa hosts the bulk of the 54,000 or so forward-deployed American troops in Japan.

"The Osprey aircraft involved in this accident has experienced multiple severe accidents, leaving many injured, dead or missing," Wang said. "The U.S. needs to take a serious and responsible attitude, take seriously the concerns of the local people, have a thorough investigation into the accident, give a reasonable explanation to relevant parties, and restore peace and tranquility in the region."

The Air Force this week identified some of the eight airmen killed in the crash on November 29 off Japan's Yakushima Island. The CV-22, an Air Force variant of the Osprey, was assigned to Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, it said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday said he was "deeply saddened" by the loss. "The entire Department of Defense mourns alongside the families and the loved ones of those who lost their lives today in the service of their country."

In an update on Wednesday, the Air Force Special Operations Command said dive teams had successfully recovered the bodies of six airmen among the wreckage. Two remained unaccounted for, its statement said.

The second Osprey crash of the year followed an accident in August involving a Marine Corps variant MV-22 off Melville Island in northern Australia. Three were killed, and multiple others were injured.