A Chinese fighter jet made an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. spy plane Tuesday in international airspace over the East China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Command said Wednesday.
The U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft was on a routine patrol when two Chinese J-10 fighter jets approached it, Pacific Command spokesman Cmdr. Dave Benham told The Japan Times in a statement.
"One of the intercepting Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the RC-135 aircraft," Benham said. "Initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe maneuvers occurred."