A Chinese fighter jet flew directly in front of the nose of a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea on Saturday, the Pentagon said Tuesday, another in a rising number of incidents involving Chinese military aircraft and ships.
The “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” by the Chinese J-16 forced the U.S. RC-125 to fly through the fighter jet’s wake turbulence, according to the Pentagon, which released video of the encounter.
The Pentagon said that the U.S. plane was “conducting safe and routine operations … in international airspace, in accordance with international law.”
For more on this story, go to NBC News.
