Chinese jets come within 50 feet of US spy plane in South China Sea ‘intercept’
A Chinese Shengyang J-11 fighter jet. Image via Wiki Commons.
19th May 2016
INTERNATIONAL airspace over the South China Sea was the scene of some high-altitude drama on Tuesday when two Chinese fighter jets flew perilously close a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane.
The Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, said the Chinese fighter jets came within 50 feet of the “spy plane”.
The incident was also characterized as an “unsafe intercept” and is being reviewed, the Pentagon said.
According to a U.S. military official, two Chinese J-11 fighters were scrambled to intercept the U.S. EP-3 Aries aircraft and came so close that they forced the pilot to descend a couple hundred feet in order to avoid a collision.
The U.S. surveillance plane was conducting “routine” operations in the region.
The official says the incident took place in the northern part of the sea, south of Hong Kong. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the incident publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.
The incident appears to be the latest to indicate rising tensions between the two superpowers in the region.
Last week, China said U.S. Navy patrols in the South China Sea require it to increase the defense capabilities of the islands it controls in the area.
The Chinese Defense Ministry has condemned the latest sail-by by the U.S. Navy last Tuesday to reinforce its position that China’s new man-made islands in the strategically vital water body do not enjoy the legal rights of natural islands.
The destroyer USS William P. Lawrence passed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of Fiery Cross Reef, the limit of what international law regards as an island’s territorial sea. The reef is now an island with an airstrip, harbor and burgeoning above-ground infrastructure.
Chinese authorities monitored and issued warnings to the U.S. destroyer as it passed. The ministry said it may also boost patrols.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
