[Steel Wolf]

Perhaps they weren't North Korean pilots in the seats of those fighters; maybe Chinese pilots are getting some training...

Chinese pilots don't lack opportunities to intercept U.S. recon planes. This has Kim Jong Il's fingerprints all over it. It was a high level, coordinated effort to escalate the tensions in the area, something China has no interest in. They want the status quo, not conflict.

[John H K]

One of the more futile arguments on FR is trying to convince people that the PRC doesn't micromanage and control all evil in the world down to the smallest detail.

Of course, back in the 60s, we thought that about the Soviet Union; at the same time the Soviets and the Chinese were involved in large-scale land combat with each other over border disputes, ironically.

For whatever reason it makes people feel better to believe all evil has a single controller, though.