Two Chinese fighter jets nearly caused a collision with a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane over the East China Sea on Sunday, according to Fox News, forcing the U.S. plane to “take evasive action to avoid collision.”
Two U.S. officials told Fox that two Chinese J-10 fighter jets, which were armed with air-to-air missiles, flew “dangerously close” to the Navy EP-3 plane.
“One of the Chinese J-10 jets flew under the American EP-3 jet and maneuvered suddenly, popping up 300 feet in front of the U.S. plane and causing ‘the [US] EP-3 to take evasive action to avoid collision,’ one official said,” Fox reported.
This took place about 90 miles south of the Chinese port city Qingdae.
“The episode came just days after the U.S. Navy’s top officer, Adm. John Richardson, on Friday called his Chinese counterpart to discuss possible next steps in putting pressure on North Korea, in an effort to deescalate tensions and roll back the rogue regime’s missile and nuclear weapons programs,” Fox reported.
This is not not the first time tensions have sparked close encounters among the Chinese and United States.
That was the second time the U.S. sailed near islands that China falsely claims as it own.
In May, the USS Dewey sailed less than 12 nautical miles from Mischief Reef, of the Spratly Islands, which are man-made islands claimed by Beijing.
The May incident was the first time something like this had happened under President Donald Trump’s administration. Relations with China were supposedly on the rise, as the White House wants to ensure China’s cooperation on issues such as North Korea.
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