Two Chinese fighter jets cut off a U.S. Navy surveillance plane flying in international airspace off the coast of Hong Kong on Wednesday, according to a military spokesman.
One of the Chinese J-10 fighter jets flew in front of the U.S. Navy P-3 Orion surveillance plane,” Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Gary Ross said.
“The aircrew deemed the intercept unsafe and unprofessional. Operations were able to continue unimpeded,” Ross said. “We continue to review the facts of this incident and will convey our concerns through appropriate channels with the Chinese government.”
This is at least the second time in so many weeks that Chinese fighter jets have buzzed U.S. military planes.
Last week, the Air Force said two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. surveillance plane in the East China Sea. Crew members on the WC-135 nuclear-sniffing aircraft said the pilots flying the Chinese Su-30 jets were “unprofessional.”
The Air Force deployed the plane to Kadena Air Base in Japan after North Korea began ramping up its missile testing.
Then, U.S. officials said Wednesday that the Navy sailed near a Chinese man-made island in the South China Sea.
The first under President Trump, the freedom-of-navigation patrol by the USS Dewey was conducted around a chain of disputed islands in the South China Sea.
The operation was intended to reinforce the U.S.’s opposition to China’s military buildup in the area.
