Chinese navy jet flies within 10ft of US air force plane over South China Sea

A Chinese military plane came within 10ft (three meters) of a US air force aircraft over the contested South China Sea last week and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace, the US military said.

The close encounter followed what the US 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 US air force RC-135 aircraft, took place on 21 December, the US military said in a statement.

The US has raised the issue with the Chinese government, another US official said.

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

In the past, China has said that the US sending ships and aircraft into the South China Sea is not conducive to peace.

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

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

Trillions of dollars in trade flow every year through the waterway, which also is home to rich fishing grounds and gas fields.

In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in November, the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, raised the need to improve crisis communications, and also noted what he called dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

Despite tensions between the United States and China, US 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.

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