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Chinese fighter jet flies within feet of Air Force plane [Video]

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:


  • The U.S. military said Thursday that a Chinese fighter jet pilot “performed an unsafe maneuver” within feet of an American aircraft, nearly risking a collision.
  • The Chinese jet flew within 20 feet of the nose of a US Air Force reconnaissance plane with about 30 people on board.
  • The encounter happened on December 21 in the South China Sea.

A Chinese military plane came within 20 feet (6 meters) of a U.S. Air Force aircraft in the contested South China Sea last week and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

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

The incident, which involved a Chinese Navy J-11 fighter jet and a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, took place on Dec. 21, the U.S. military said in a statement.

“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” it added.

A U.S. military spokesperson said the Chinese jet came within 10 feet of the plane’s wing, but 20 feet from its nose, which caused the U.S. aircraft to take evasive maneuvers.

The United States has raised the issue with the Chinese government, a separate U.S. official said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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

U.S. military planes and ships routinely carry out surveillance operations and travel through the region.

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China claims vast swathes of the South China Sea that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in November, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised the need to improve crisis communications, and also noted what he called dangerous behavior by Chinese military planes.

Despite tensions between the United States and China, U.S. military officials have long sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to mitigate the risk of potential flare-ups or deal with any accidents.

In June, Australia said that a Chinese fighter jet dangerously intercepted one of its military surveillance planes in the South China Sea region in May.

Canada also accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol aircraft in June while they were monitoring North Korean sanction evasions. The Canadian planes had to divert from their flight paths.

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.

The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

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Source: Reuters

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7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. 1PatriotForever

    December 31, 2022 at 6:56 am

    The USA should have drifted LEFT to push the Chinese plane. Giving way to bullies is not how you handle an aggressive movie to intimidate you. Stand your ground or move in closer, backing away is timid and they smoke because they have you by the short hair

    • Dave

      December 31, 2022 at 10:28 am

      That is easy to say when you are on the ground typing into a keyboard. The US RC-135 was carrying 30 of our nations finest who would all likely be killed in a midair collision. The Chinese fighter likely had 1 pilot who has the option to eject should a collision occur. Why you would think that risking the lives of 30 Americans in a situation where you have nothing to gain is a good idea is incomprehensible. I’ll go on a limb and say that there are 30 American families who are glad that you are not in charge.

  2. 1PatriotForever

    December 31, 2022 at 6:57 am

    The USA should have drifted LEFT to push the Chinese plane. Giving way to bullies is not how you handle an aggressive move to intimidate you. Stand your ground or move in closer, backing away is timid and they smile because they have you by the short hair

  3. Sidney Polley

    December 31, 2022 at 10:04 am

    It is beginning to look like America made a huge mistake in saving China’s butt (from Japan) during WW2! Amazing which country is now our friend and which one is now acting as our enemy!!

    • CharlieSeattle

      December 31, 2022 at 6:00 pm

      Remember, it was Truman that decided to abandon 1 billion Nationalist Chinese allies to Mao in 1946-49.
      Truman abandoned Tibet to Mao in 1950.
      Truman canned MacArthur in 1951 and turned victory into defeat in Korea.
      Truman and …every …administration …since has bent over to Communist China and North Korea.

      So I ask? …What enemy???
      The CCP, Wall Street, The US ☭hamber Of ☭ommerce and ☭orporate Ameri☭a bribed ☭ongress to write the laws that made it legal to screw over America and allow the greatest transfer of jobs, wealth and intellectual property in modern history to an avowed enemy, Communist China, making them the threat they are today.

      ☭ongress and ☭orporate America are the real enemy!

  4. DrBillLemoine

    December 31, 2022 at 10:31 am

    We had detente for decades with Russia, then our national nemesis with nuclear standoff, and now our sanctions-layered, ally-invading outright enemy. We can do the same with China in the military arena. Economics-wise, we are already isolating China with ASEAN economic cooperation and military treaties with our allies in Asia: that Association of South East Asia Nations. They need protection from their giant neighbor and we are up for the challenges. We have the largest military by a factor of 4 and economic parity with the world’s reserve currency. They are challenging us, not the reverse. We hold most of the cards as long as we remain cool-headed. Nix the aggressive actions recommended in other comments; the giant is not bullied, only harassed.

  5. CharlieSeattle

    December 31, 2022 at 5:57 pm

    Oh my Gosh! Did this happen in the Gulf of Mexico? Off Miami? Off Los Angeles? Hawaii?
    Son Of A Bytch! Nooo! It happened off the coast of Communist China where the US is staging False Flag flybys with US spy planes.
    Nothing to see here, move along, move along! WWIII will be over in a flash!

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