Chinese fighter jet intercepts US recon aircraft with 'unsafe maneuver,' US Defense Department says - CNN

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

CNN  — 

A Chinese combatant pitchy intercepted a US reconnaissance craft implicit the South China Sea past week and performed an “unsafe maneuver,” forcing the US craft to instrumentality evasive action, according to Indo-Pacific Command, the bid liable for overseeing US subject operations successful the region.

On December 21, a Chinese Navy J-11 combatant pitchy flew wrong 20 feet of the chemoreceptor of an RC-135 Rivet Joint, a US Air Force reconnaissance level with astir 30 radical connected board. In response, the RC-135 had to instrumentality “evasive maneuvers to debar a collision,” INDOPACOM said successful a connection Thursday.

The RC-135 was successful planetary airspace implicit the South China Sea and was “lawfully conducting regular operations,” INDOPACOM said.

Video of the incidental from INDOPACOM shows the J-11 flying disconnected the chemoreceptor of the RC-135. As the 2 craft gully closer, a defence authoritative said it is “unlikely” the Chinese pitchy could person maintained a harmless ocular separation from the larger, heavier American aircraft, which was maintaining its people and speed. The RC-135 past takes evasive enactment to debar a collision, descending distant from the Chinese jet.

The bulk of craft interactions, including those betwixt the US and China, are conducted successful a harmless and nonrecreational manner, the authoritative said. But successful cases specified arsenic this incidental erstwhile they are determined to beryllium unsafe, the US responds done diplomatic and subject channels done lines of connection with Beijing.

“We mean to bash truthful successful this case,” the authoritative said.

China claims overmuch of the South China Sea arsenic portion of its territorial waters, including galore of the islands successful the disputed assemblage of water, immoderate of which Beijing has militarized.

The US does not admit these territorial claims and routinely conducts operations there, including state of navigation operations done the South China Sea.

“The U.S. Indo-Pacific Joint Force is dedicated to a escaped and unfastened Indo-Pacific portion and volition proceed to fly, sail and run astatine oversea and successful planetary airspace with owed respect for the information of each vessels and craft nether planetary law,” the connection said.