According to the US military, a Chinese fighter jet in the disputed South China Sea flew within three meters of a US Air Force Spy aircraft, forcing it to do evasive maneuvers to prevent a collision in international airspace.
The close call came from what the US has described as a recent pattern of more risky activity by Chinese military aircraft.
A US Air Force's B-52 bomber flies over Skopje, on August 22, 2022. - Two US B-52 bombers, currently stationed at Fairford Air Force Base in the United Kingdom, are making low-flying flights over southeastern Europe to demonstrate the US commitment to the security of NATO allies located in the southeast of Europe, according to a press release. The bombers will fly over the government building in Skopje, Skanderbeg square in Tirana, the coast of Montenegro and Dubrovnik.
A Chinese Navy J-11 fighter jet and a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft were involved in the incident, which happened on December 21, according to a statement from the US military.
"The US Indo-Pacific Joint Force is dedicated to a free and open Indo-Pacific region and will continue to fly, sail and operate at sea and in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law," the US military said in a statement.
"We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law."
Evasive Maneuvers
A US military representative told Reuters that the US aircraft had to make evasive maneuvers since the Chinese fighter was just 20 feet from its nose but 10 feet from its wing.
Another US official said that the US has brought up the matter with the Chinese government.
Huge portions of the South China Sea that China claims coincide with the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.
Every year, trillions of dollars worth of trade pass through the waterway, which is also home to abundant gas deposits and fishing grounds.
For a long time, US military officials have worked to keep lines of communication open with their Chinese counterparts to reduce the likelihood of potential blowups.
A Chinese fighter jet riskily intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane over the South China Sea in May, according to a statement from Australia's defense department in June.
Australia claims that the Chinese jet passed very closely in front of the RAAF plane and discharged a "bundle of chaff" that contained tiny fragments of aluminum that got into the plane's engine.
Canada also claimed in June that Chinese warplanes had harassed its patrol aircraft as they were keeping an eye on North Korea's attempts to evade sanctions, sometimes causing Canadian aircraft to deviate from their flight paths.
Related Article: US Military Fights Against Ransomware: Cyber Crime is Massive in the Country, Needing More to Fight Against It
