A Chinese fighter jet pilot performed "an unjustified aggressive maneuver" near a US military reconnaissance aircraft operating over the South China Sea. The incident comes at a time of already high tensions between Beijing and Washington over issues such as Taiwan or the overflight of a Chinese balloon over US territory in late 2022.
A senior U.S. military official said there was "an alarming increase in the number of interceptions and risky aerial confrontations at sea" by Chinese aircraft and ships. Such acts "can create a dangerous incident or miscalculation," he added.