Zain Malik
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On 7 June two Chinese J-10 fighters (examples shown here) flew close to a USAF RC-135 flying over the East China Sea, according to US officials. Source: China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp
A Chinese fighter conducted an unsafe intercept of a US reconnaissance aircraft while flying in international airspace over the East China Sea, US officials have said. The incident took place on 7 June and involved two Chinese J-10 fighters that flew close to a US Air Force RC-135 on a routine patrol.
"One of the intercepting Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the RC-135 aircraft," US Pacific Command said in a statement, adding that "initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe manoeuvres occurred".
"The Department of Defense is addressing the issue with China in appropriate diplomatic and military channels," the statement said. The Chinese J-10 was never closer than 100 ft to the reconnaissance aircraft, a US official was quoted by CNN as saying.
Beijing's response was prompt. "Judging by the report, the US side is again deliberately hyping up the issue of the close surveillance of China by US military aircraft," China's Ministry of National Defense was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"Chinese military pilots consistently carry out operations in accordance with the law and the rules, and are professional and responsible," the ministry added without elaborating.
The latest intercept was the second close encounter between US and Chinese aircraft within the past three weeks. On 17 May two Chinese Shenyang J-11 ('Flanker B+') fighters intercepted a US Navy Lockheed Martin EP-3E Aries II signals intelligence aircraft flying in international airspace over the South China Sea (SCS). The fighters flew approximately 50 ft from the US aircraft, said US officials who characterised the incident as "unsafe".
The rising tensions over the disputed SCS also cast a shadow over the joint opening of the eighth round of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogues and the seventh round of the China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, which began on 6 June in Beijing.
