A US patrol plane was just intercepted by 2 Chinese military aircraft over the South China Sea

REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a US Navy aircraft that was flying in a "routine patrol" over the South China Sea on Wednesday, a Defense Department spokesman said in a written statement.

"Two tactical aircraft from the People's Republic of China" intercepted the plane, said Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, according to NBC.  "Initial reports characterized the incident as unsafe."

The J-11 Chinese fighter jets apparently flew roughly 50 feet from the US plane, a Navy P-3 Orion aircraft.

China has asserted territorial claims over the South China Sea, which has large oil and natural gas deposits and has also been claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. 

Washington has not recognized China's claims to the waters, and has accused Beijing, which is allegedly building islands there, of "militarizing" the area. China has created over 3,000 acres of land in the Spratly Islands, around which the US has conducted "freedom of navigation" patrols that have irritated China.

REUTERS/Murad Sezer

This is a developing story.

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