Chinese jets come within several hundred feet of US plane over South China Sea
Two Chinese J-10 fighter jets came within several hundred feet of a U. S. Navy P-3 Orion over the South China Sea on Thursday local time, U. S. officials said.
The fighters flew 200 yards in front of the P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft with an altitude separation of 100 feet, U. S. officials said.
« The aircrew deemed the intercept unsafe and unprofessional, » said U. S. Navy spokesman Gary Ross. « Operations were able to continue unimpeded. »
According to a U. S. official, the Chinese jets were weaving ahead of the American plane, an action that concerned the U. S. pilot.
The activity occurred 150 miles southeast of Hainan Island in the northern part of the South China Sea.
The Navy said the U. S. plans to address the incident with the Chinese government.
This encounter appears to have occurred the same day that the U. S. Navy destroyer USS Dewey sailed within 12 miles of Mischief Reef in the South China Sea, conducting a Freedom of Navigation Operation by the artificial island claimed by China.
