Chinese jet nearly collides with American spy plane off China's coast

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U.S. RC-135 gathering electronic intelligence when Chinese jet intercepted
Aircraft flew in front in what American crew called an 'unsafe' maneuver
It's the second time a near-miss occurred between a US and Chinese jets

Published: 23:14 EST, 22 September 2015 | Updated: 01:58 EST, 23 September 2015

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An American spy plane had a near miss after a Chinese jet intercepted it over the Yellow Sea in an dangerous mid-air stunt.

The U.S. RC-135 had been gathering electronic intelligence when the interceptor flew in front - in a maneuver described as 'unsafe' by the American crew.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed the department was reviewing a report of the incident on September 15 which occurred some 80 miles east off China's Shandong Peninsula.

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A Chinese interceptor jet (stock picture) conducted a second dangerous pass near a U.S. surveillance aircraft over Asian waters earlier this month

The U.S. RC-135 (stock picture) had been gathering electronic intelligence when the interceptor flew in front in a maneuver described as 'unsafe' by the American crew

It is the second time a near-collision has occurred between a US jet and aircraft from the People's Republic of China.

Last year a Chinese fighter jet hot-shot did a Top Gun-style barrel roll just 30ft from a US jet in what was criticized as a 'very dangerous' stunt.

Cook refused to say how close the interceptor had come to the U.S. spy plane earlier this month but said it was less dangerous than the August 2014 intercept.

He told Free Beacon: 'My understanding is, and I don't have all the details, but the pilot believed that the plane passed in an unsafe fashion in front of the plane.

'The pilot reported that he felt like the plane, the aircraft, passed in front of his nose in an unsafe fashion,' he said, declining to provide further details.'

The dangerous aerial encounter is a setback for U.S. diplomacy with China, which President Obama has put at the heart of the Pentagon's policy.

Senators have now criticized China for the stint and the Obama administration, calling for a more 'forceful' response.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain warned the stunt revealed China's 'aggression' around its borders.

'Yet another dangerous Chinese intercept of a U.S. aircraft last week shows that China feels emboldened to continue its pattern of aggressive behavior in the Asia-Pacific region,' he told Free Beacon.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed the department was reviewing a report of the incident on September 15 which occurred some 80 miles east off China's Shandong Peninsula

The report comes is likely to embarrass Chinese President Xi Jinping who arrived in the US yesterday and is scheduled to meet President Obama later this week.

'That this flight came amid negotiations of rules for air-to-air encounters and just one week ahead of President Xi's arrival in the United States raises further questions about China's intentions and the Obama administration's response thus far,' Sen. Cain added.

The Pentagon and Chinese military have been negotiating a formal agreement to govern aerial intercepts following a series of close misses.

Last year's near-collision had strained military-to-military relations and promoted Washington to protest to the Chinese military through diplomatic channels, calling the fighter pilot's actions 'unsafe and unprofessional'.

Pentagon press secretary, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said the maneuver had posed a risk to the safety of the U.S. air crew, was 'inconsistent with customary international law',

Kirby said the Chinese jet made several close passes by the Navy P-8 Poseidon plane, coming within 30 feet of it at one point.

He said the Chinese jet did a 'barrel roll' maneuver over the top of the Poseidon at one point and also passed across the nose of the Navy plane, exposing the belly of the fighter in a way apparently designed to show that it was armed.

In 2001 a Chinese jet collided with a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft off Hainan Island, killing the Chinese pilot and forcing the Navy plane to make an emergency landing on the island.

Washington severed military relations with China after that episode.

Last year a Chinese fighter jet hot-shot did a Top Gun-style barrel roll just 30ft from a US jet in what was criticized as a 'very dangerous' stunt. This photo - taken from a U.S. Navy surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft - shows how precariously close the Chinese fighter jet came to the American plane

Since then, relations have improved considerably and on Monday, White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice claimed the measures had reduced 'the risk of unintended incidents' between U.S and Chinese aircraft.

She made no mention of the near-miss over the Yellow Sea.

As relations thaw, the Chinese and U.S. military were able reach a memorandum of understanding in Beijing last November.

But a formal agreement to govern aerial intercepts has not been reached as China insists all U.S. surveillance flights near its coasts are halted, while the Pentagon rejected the ban.

Rick Fisher, a China military analyst, warned that the dangerous aerial encounter required 'a very firm U.S. response.'

Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R., Va.), chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Sea Power, also criticized China's behavior in the house, saying they were 'harassing' U.S. aircraft conducting lawful missions.

'Even on the eve of their president's visit to Washington, China is again behaving as a destabilizing force in the international system,' Forbes told Free Beacon on Monday.

Not happy: Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said last year that Washington had lodged a protest to China through diplomatic channels, calling the maneuver 'very close' and 'very dangerous'

Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Seattle on Tuesday to kick off a week-long U.S. visit that will include meetings with U.S. business leaders, a black-tie state dinner at the White House hosted by President Barack Obama and an address at the United Nations.

In downtown Seattle, about 100 people - both for and against Xi's presence - gathered peacefully outside the Westin hotel. Protesters representing Falun Gong, a religious group that says it is repressed in China, held placards, while well-wishers waved Chinese and U.S. flags and large red cloth signs that read 'Hello President Xi' in Chinese characters.

The Chinese leader's visit to Seattle, which he called 'America's gateway to Asia' in prepared remarks upon his arrival, comes at a delicate time in U.S.-China relations.

U.S. government and business leaders aim to strike a balance between forging agreements and improving relations with the world's second-largest economy.

At the same time, they hope to send strong messages about allegations of Chinese cyber spying and intellectual property violations as well as Internet censorship, aerial military-to-military relations, China's disputed territorial claims to islands in the South China Sea.

For the Chinese side, Xi's meetings with Obama and U.S. business leaders offer the chance to bolster the president's stature at home, building on a high-profile military parade earlier this month to mark the end of World War Two.

It also offers an opportunity to deflect attention from the country's recent stock market rout, slowing economy and a chemical explosion at a Tianjin warehouse that killed over 160 people.