U.S. Accuses Chinese Fighter Jet of Unsafe Intercept of American Spy Plane

Days after the United States threatened to use military force against China over disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea, Washington accused Beijing on Wednesday of an “unsafe” intercept of an American spy plane.

The accusation is the latest skirmish between the two giants as the U.S. sides with the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China. Reuters reported that the U.S. Pacific Command accused two Chinese J-10 fighter jets of “unsafe” intercept while a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft on routine patrol was flying on Tuesday in international space over East China Sea.

The command said one of the Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the American plane. But the command did not state how close the Chinese aircraft was to its jet. In a statement, the command said, “Initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe maneuvers occurred.”

In turn, Beijing demanded that Washington end American surveillance flights in the region. The Chinese Defense Ministry, which said it has received the report via diplomatic and military channels, replied in a statement, “Judging by the report, the U.S. side is again deliberately hyping up the issue of the close surveillance of China by U.S. military aircraft.”

The New York Times noted that it is the second case of unsafe intercept. In May, Pentagon also accused two Chinese fighter aircraft of flying dangerously too close to an EP-3 jet off the coast of Hainan Province. The Defense Department estimated the Chinese jet was within 50 feet of the U.S. airplane over the South China Sea which breached a safe conduct agreement the two countries inked in 2015.