China and U.S. Military Planes Accidentally Come Close to Each other over South China Sea
A Chinese military aircraft and a U.S. Navy P-3 aircraft came close to one another in an incident that happened over the South China Sea, Reuters stated after interacting with a U.S. official.
Speaking on anonymity, the official also stated that the distance between the two aircrafts was near about 305 meters (1000 feet). On Wednesday, the incident took place in the proximity of the Scarborough Shoal which is located between the Chinese mainland and Philippines, he added.
He also said that, such incidents between American and Chinese aircrafts are rare and there were only two such occurrences in the year 2016.
In a statement to Reuters, the U.S. Pacific Command said that, the P-3 aircraft was on a routine mission operating in accordance with international law. The Pacific Command also said that, the U.S. Pacific Command and the Department of Defense are always concerned about such interactions with the Chinese military forces.
There was no response from the defense and foreign ministries of China when contact to comment on the same.
China has always been suspicious about the military activities of the U.S. in the South China Sea.
Last year in December, a U.S. underwater drone was picked up by a Chinese naval vessel from the South China Sea close to the Philippines which led to a U.S. diplomatic protest. However, the drone was later handed back by China.
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