China's Air Force Introduces its newest fighter jet during an air show while U.S. officers looking on in order to cement that it is a military defense contender in Asia.
The J-31 stealth fighter will be showcased, along with its long range of capabilities at the Zhuhai Air Show that commenced today, Nov. 11 in Guangdong province, as reported by the official Xinhua News Agency on Oct.25.
The air show will happen during the meeting of Beijing leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which U.S. President Barack Obama will attend.
The J-31 is a testament to China's efforts to establish its dominance in military aerial defense, which the U.S. has been dominating so far. China increased its defense budget this year by 12.2 percent ot 808.2 billion yuan ($132 billion).
"It appears to be a fifth-generation fighter and so far of course only the United States has been able to produce those," said Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
"So in a sense, it's kind of impressive on a superficial level," he added.
The J-31 is one of two famous Chinese next-generation fighters that will be showcased in the air show, with the other, the J-20 made by Chengdu AVIC subsidiary of the People's Liberation Army.
Meanwhile the U.S. military participating in the Zhuhai airshow may be an indicator that the U.S. administration and the Chinese government are in a truce, following a protest by the Obama administration back in August when a Chinese fighter jet went too close off of a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft in international waters near Hainan Island.
"We're looking at what practical things can be done to build confidence and add more transparency," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters today in Beijing.
"The bottom line, the principle is, it's incredibly important that we avoid any inadvertent escalation and that we don't find ourselves again having an accidental circumstance lead into something that would precipitate a conflict."
