A US surveillance plane was intercepted by two Chinese fighter jets over the weekend—forcing the US aircraft to take ‘evasive action to avoid collision’, Pentagon officials said Monday.
The Chinese J-10 jets came within 300 feet of the American EP-3 plane over the East China Sea Sunday.
“There are intercepts that occur in international airspace regularly, and the vast majority of them are conducted in a safe manner,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. “This was the exception, not the norm.”
No injuries were reported and the incident is under investigation.
