Chinese Fighter Jet Intercepts US Plane Over South China Sea

A People's Liberation Army fighter pilot performs an unsafe maneuver during an intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, which was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace on Dec. 21, 2022. Courtesy of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

A Chinese fighter jet aggressively intercepted a U.S. aircraft earlier in the month, risking the lives of its crew and escalating tensions between the two nations.

A J-16 fighter pilot “performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” against a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance plane on May 26, according to a statement released by United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) on May 30.