Pentagon: ‘Unsafe’ Intercept Of US E-P3 Spy Plane By Chinese J-11 Fighter Jets

Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. spy plane in “international airspace” in a maneuver characterized as “unsafe,” U.S. defense officials said Wednesday.

The incident occurred Tuesday as a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane was flying over the South China Sea . The two Chinese J-11 fighter jets flew approximately 50 feet from the U.S. aircraft, Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in a statement.