WATCH: Chinese jet's 'aggressive maneuver' near US spy plane over South China Sea

The US military said on Tuesday that a Chinese fighter jet carried out an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver close to a US reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, forcing the American pilot to fly through the turbulent wake.

“The Chinese J-16 fighter pilot flew directly in front of the nose of the RC-135, which was conducting routine operations in international airspace last Friday, US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement, adding that the move was an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver.”

“The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows,” the statement added.

#USINDOPACOM Statement on #PRC Unprofessional Intercept: “We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law.”

Read more⬇️https://t.co/jeAEg1lHXz pic.twitter.com/AvPKRZHCZB

— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) May 30, 2023

A video showed a fighter jet passing in front of the US plane’s nose and the cockpit of the RC-135 shaking in the turbulence.

In the past, China has said that the United States sending ships and aircraft into the South China Sea is not good for peace.

Such intercepts happen occasionally. In December, a Chinese military plane came within 10 feet (3 meters) of a US Air Force aircraft and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace.

The encounter followed what the United States has called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

The incident took place before China snubbed a request by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit in Singapore this week.

A senior US defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that since 2021 China had declined or not responded to over a dozen requests to talk with the Pentagon.

Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world’s two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

With inputs from agencies

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