At least two Chinese fighter J-11 made a “dangerous” interception of a us spy plane EP-3 in international airspace over the South China sea. About this CNN said Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis.
According to him, during a routine mission, the Chinese fighter approached the scout to 50 feet (about 15 meters). The incident will be discussed at relevant military and diplomatic channels, he added.
Several sources in the Ministry of defense told CNN that such incidents in the region occur infrequently. “This case definitely attracts attention,” said one of them.
The disputed area in the South China sea is a source of tension between Washington and Beijing for several months. The Chinese have created an artificial island in the disputed archipelagos and deployed their weapons. The United States criticized China’s actions in the South China sea and accused Beijing of militarization of the region.
Affiliation Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands is disputed by several countries, including Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
May 15, after obnarodovany report prepared for the us Congress, which said that China can increase the amount of military equipment on the artificial Islands in the South China sea, the representative of the Chinese defense Ministry Yang Yujun urged the United States to stop making statements, “not going to benefit Sino-American relations and the mutual trust megamisama”.
As reported by Reuters, in April, at a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the nuclear security Summit in Washington, Chinese President XI Jinping stated that China no longer intends to tolerate violations of its sovereignty in the South China sea and hopes to “correct the behavior of countries in the region, especially those located outside it”.
