Unsafe encounter between Chinese and US military planes

NEW DELHI: A Chinese military aircraft crossed near the nose of a Navy P-3C Orion anti-submarine and surveillance plane Wednesday, flying within about 1,000 feet, The Washington Post reported today. The Pentagon identified the encounter as unsafe, but probably unintentional.

The incident occurred late in the morning in international airspace over the South China Sea near Scarborough Shoal, a Pentagon spokesman said. The Chinese plane’s maneuver prompted the Navy aircraft to turn to avoid it.

“Clearly, we have our disagreements with China over militarization of the South China Sea, over their reclamation of the islands and some of their broader strategic objectives, but when it comes to simply the interactions, those are largely professional and safe,” the spokesman said. “This does seem to be a one-off. It doesn’t seem to indicate that it’s a change in their policy or strategy, and our immediate assessment is this was likely unintentional.”

The incident came one day before President Trump, in a conversation with China’s President Xi Jinping, agreed to honour the one-China policy, after weeks of tension that began when Trump suggested he would only commit to the agreement if China addressed concerns he has about trade and the valuation of China’s currency. The policy rules out independence or U.S. diplomatic recognition for Taiwan, and was first agreed to in 1972 by President Richard Nixon and China’s Mao Zedong.