A Chinese fighter jet flew in front of a US reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea in what the Washington said was an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver,” according to a statement from the Indo-Pacific Command.
(Bloomberg) — A Chinese fighter jet flew in front of a US reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea in what the Washington said was an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver,” according to a statement from the Indo-Pacific Command.
The pilot flew “directly in front of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the U.S. aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence,” the command said. “The RC-135 was conducting safe and routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law.”
China’s embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Such encounters have happened from time to time in the region, most famously in 2001, when a US Navy EP-3 airplane collided in midair with a Chinese fighter jet. The Chinese jet crashed and its pilot was never found, while the EP-3 landed on China’s Hainan Island, provoking a 10-day standoff after which the 24 American crewmembers were finally released.
China claims all of the South China Sea as its own territory, an assertion challenged by Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries. It’s embarked on an extensive land-reclamation campaign, building landing strips and bases on disputed reefs and atolls.
In the statement, the US said it will keep flying, sailing and operating “wherever international law allows.”
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