World News | Chinese warplanes intercept US aircraft in the South China Sea

washington [US]Dec. 30 (ANI): A Chinese fighter jet performed an unsafe maneuver after coming within 20 feet of a U.S. military aircraft over the South China Sea, The Hill reported on Thursday, citing the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

A Chinese Navy J-11 jet pilot was shot down Thursday, according to a news release from the command that coordinates U.S. military operations in the region.

Read also | Pakistan horror: Hindu woman Daya Bheel’s mutilated body found in Sindh province; protests held.

It said “flying in front of and within 20 feet of the nose of the US Air Force RC-135 aircraft, an unsafe maneuver was performed” which forced the US aircraft to “take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision”.

The command said the U.S. aircraft was “lawfully conducting routine operations” in international airspace, The Hill reported.

Read also | Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu on his sixth swearing-in as Prime Minister of Israel.

“The U.S. Joint Indo-Pacific Force is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific region and will continue to fly, sail, and operate at sea and in international airspace, with due regard for the safety of all ships and aircraft in accordance with international law,” the order’s statement read.

“We want all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to have safe use of international airspace in accordance with international law,” the statement added.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concern about Beijing’s “dangerous” behavior in November when he met with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cambodia on Tuesday.

The talks between Austin and Wei covered defense relations, as well as regional and global security issues.

China and ASEAN agreed on a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea in 2002, but progress on a Code of Conduct (COC) has been slow as the risk of conflict has grown. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)