A Chinese fighter jet flew within 10 feet of a US Air Force B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea, risking a collision, US Indo-Pacific Command has said.
The incident occurred during a nighttime intercept on October 24, 2023.
According to the Pentagon, the Chinese pilot flew the Shenyang J-11 twin-engine fighter “in an unsafe and unprofessional manner” and “demonstrated poor airmanship by closing with uncontrolled excessive speed.”
“We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision,” the US military stated, adding: “Military aircraft, when intentionally approaching another, shall operate with professional airmanship and give due regard for the safety of other aircraft.”
The US Indo-Pacific Command released footage of the video, which it uploaded to social media.
The video shows how dangerously close the two aircraft came to making contact with one another.
The US Department of Defense claims that there have been more than 180 instances of Chinese military aircraft flying dangerously close to US aircraft since 2021.
US President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he visits the White House on October 27, 2023, as per a report by CNN.
This latest incident comes just days after China expressed its disapproval of the presence of US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in Southeast Asia, describing the US as a ‘troublemaker’ in the region.