Hainan Island incident

The Hainan Island incident refers to a significant diplomatic and military confrontation that occurred in April 2001 between the United States and China. It involved a mid-air collision between a U.S. Navy surveillance plane (the EP-3E Aries II) and a Chinese fighter jet (a Shenyang J-8) near Hainan Island, which is located in the South China Sea. On April 1, 2001, the U.S.