Chinese Fighter Jets Intercept US Spy Plane Over South China Sea
China has called on the United States to stop its close reconnaissance activities after the Pentagon reported that two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a US military spy aircraft over the South China Sea. “Two tactical [J-11s] aircraft from the People’s Republic of China” intercepted the Navy EP-3 Orion, a US maritime reconnaissance aircraft, which was on a “routine patrol” in international airspace, Defense Department spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza told NBC News. Baldanza said: “The Chinese jets flew by the US aircraft at a distance of approximately 50 feet (15 meters).