China Accused of ‘Unsafe’ Intercept of U.S. Spy Plane

A Chinese fighter jet carried out an “unsafe” intercept of a U.S. spy plane on routine patrol on Tuesday in international airspace over the East China Sea, according to U.S. Pacific Command.

 

The incident came as China again demanded an end to U.S. surveillance flights.

 

The intercept involved two Chinese J-10 fighter planes and a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane, U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement.

 

“One of the intercepting Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the RC-135 aircraft. Initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe maneuvers occurred,” it added. The statement did not say how close the Chinese fighter came to the U.S. plane.

 

Read More: China Accused of ‘Unsafe’ Intercept of U.S. Spy Plane – NBC News