Watch a Chinese and an American Military Plane Come Dangerously Close in Midair

China and the U.S. are blaming each other for what they both call a dangerous close encounter between their military planes over the South China Sea.

A Chinese fighter jet intercepted an American spy plane on Dec. 21 and came within 20 feet of the nose of the U.S. aircraft, forcing it to “take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision,” the U.S. military said late last week.

But on Saturday, China said it was the U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft that flew dangerously. Tian Junli, a spokesman for the Chinese military, called the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s allegations “slander and hype.”

The encounter highlights the military tensions between the U.S. and China in and above one of the world’s most vital waterways. 

China’s sweeping territorial claims in the waters overlap with those of Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Beijing has grown increasingly assertive in staking these claims in the past decade, building ports, runways, and other military infrastructure in the sea and sailing its fleet near disputed lands.

While the U.S. has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, it has sought to push back on what it sees as China’s attempt to dominate the waterway, which accounts for a third of global shipping and holds significant fish stocks and other resources. 

The U.S. often sends warships to those waters to conduct what it calls “freedom of navigation” operations, but China has objected to their presence in the area and routinely intercepts foreign military planes considered to be flying too close to Chinese-controlled territory and features.

The U.S. said it was conducting “routine operations” over the South China Sea when the Chinese J-11 fighter carried out the interception. It released a video on Thursday with a view from the U.S. aircraft’s cockpit showing the Chinese plane flying on its left, slightly ahead, and steadily approaching. The U.S. called the Chinese plane’s action an “unsafe maneuver.”

But China said it was the U.S. aircraft that made “dangerous” approaches, saying it ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese pilot and suddenly changed its flight altitude, squeezing the Chinese plane to the left. The Southern Theater Command of the Chinese military released its own footage filmed from the J-11, showing an apparent change in the U.S. aircraft’s altitude.

Other Western nations have registered complaints this year about interceptions by Chinese planes.

In May, Australia alleged a Chinese fighter jet intercepted one of its military surveillance planes over the South China Sea and ejected chaff—tiny strips of metal used to throw off missiles—that entered the Australian plane’s engine. China similarly pointed its finger back, accusing the Australian plane of threatening Chinese sovereignty and ignoring repeated warnings.

The following month, Chinese jets forced a Canadian Air Force plane off its flight path during an operation in the northern Pacific Ocean to monitor suspected North Korean activities to evade U.N. sanctions. The jets came so close that the pilots could see each other, the Canadian military alleged. 

In 2001, a Chinese fighter jet crashed with a U.S. spy plane during an interception over the South China Sea, killing the Chinese pilot. The American plane made an emergency landing in China. None of its 24 crew members were hurt.

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