The Pentagon slammed China on Monday for an “unsafe” intercept of an American reconnaissance plane that required the U.S. Navy aircraft to move to avoid a mid-air collision.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Logan said the incident happened Sunday morning local time when a U.S. Navy EP-3 in international airspace over the East China Sea encountered two Chinese J-10 fighter jets.
One of the Chinese jets came underneath the U.S. plane at a high rate of speed, “causing our aircraft to veer off and change course,” Logan said.
Logan said he could not confirm how close the Chinese jet came, but reports citing unidentified defense officials say the plane got within 300 feet of the U.S. plane.
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