TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Fighter jet China flew very close, just about 3 meters away, with a US surveillance plane in international airspace in the South China Sea last week.

To avoid a collision, the aircraft united states of america type RC-135 are erased. The fighter plane used by the Chinese navy is of the J-11 type. The area where the incident occurred is claimed by China as its own.

“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” the U.S. military said Thursday, December 29, 2022.

The close encounter follows what the United States calls a new trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft. The incident happened on December 21, the US military said in a statement.

A US military spokesman said the Chinese plane closed within 3 meters of the plane’s wing but 6 meters from its nose, causing the US plane to perform an evasive manoeuvre.

The United States has raised the issue with the Chinese government, a US official said separately.

The Chinese government has yet to issue a statement on the incident.

RC-135S Cobra Ball reconnaissance aircraft.[missiledefenseadvocacy.org]

In the past, China has said that the entry of US ships and planes into the South China Sea is not good for peace.

US military planes and ships regularly carry out surveillance and travel in the region.

China claims most of the South China Sea, which straddles the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Trillions of trade dollars pass through this road every year, which is also a fishing zone and a gas field.

In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in November, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed the need for improved communications and also noted what he said was dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

Despite tensions between the United States and China, American military officials have long sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to mitigate the risk of potential outbreaks or deal with any incidents.

The Australian Department of Defense said in June that a Chinese warplane treacherously intercepted an Australian military reconnaissance aircraft in the South China Sea region in May.

Australia said the Chinese aircraft flew close to the RAAF aircraft and dropped a “chaff packet” containing small pieces of aluminum which entered the engine of the Australian aircraft.

In June, the Canadian military accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol planes as they monitored North Korea’s sanctions busting, sometimes forcing Canadian planes off course.

Relations between China and the United States are strained, with friction between the world’s two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to its military activities in the sea. Southern China.

United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August angered China, which saw it as an attempt by the United States to interfere in its internal affairs. China then launched military exercises near the island.

Reuters