The U.S. military announced on Thursday that a U.S. military aircraft narrowly avoided a collision with a Chinese fighter jet that was flying just meters away over the South China Sea.
On December 21, a pilot of a Chinese J-11 fighter jet executed a "dangerous maneuver when it approached a U.S. RC-135 aircraft," according to a statement from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
The Chinese pilot flew in front of the U.S. reconnaissance aircraft at a distance of less than six meters, which forced the RC-135 to perform evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision, the military stated.
The RC-135 was "legally conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace," according to U.S. command.
This near-miss comes at a time when China has been showcasing military strength recently.
On Monday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced that China had deployed 71 warplanes during military exercises conducted over the weekend around Taiwan, including 60 fighters in one of its largest daily operations.
The Chinese military stated that it conducted "combat drills" on Sunday near Taiwan in response to unspecified "provocations" and to the "collusion" between the United States and the self-governing island.
