(Washington) A US military aircraft narrowly avoided a collision with a Chinese fighter jet that was flying just a few feet above it over the South China Sea, the US military said Thursday.
On Dec. 21, the pilot of a Chinese Navy J-11 fighter jet ‘performed a dangerous maneuver while approaching an American RC-135 aircraft’, the US Indo-Pacific Command said. in a press release.
The Chinese pilot flew in front of and less than six meters from the nose of the American surveillance plane, “forcing the RC-135 to perform evasive maneuvers to prevent a collision”, according to the army.
The RC-135 was “lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace,” the US command added.
The near-miss collision comes as China, which sees the island as part of its territory to be reclaimed one day, has recently embarked on a show of force.
Last weekend, authorities in Taipei accused Beijing of deploying 71 fighter jets in military maneuvers around Taiwan, including 60 fighter jets, in one of its biggest daily incursions to date. .
The Chinese military said the drills were in response to “provocations” and “collusion” between the United States and authorities on the island.
According to an AFP database, more than 1,700 such incursions have taken place so far this year, compared to 969 in 2021.