US Air Force Bomber Has Near Miss in Chinese Fighter Jet Intercept

A Chinese fighter pilot risked colliding with a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber, flying within 10 feet of the larger aircraft at night, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

The incident, which allegedly took place in international airspace over the disputed South China Sea, follows a trend of People's Liberation Army pilots making aggressive approaches near planes operated by the U.S. and other militaries.

On Tuesday, the pilot of the Chinese J-11 fighter "demonstrated poor airmanship by closing with uncontrolled excessive speed, flying below, in front of, and within 10 feet of the B-52, putting both aircraft in danger of collision," the Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. "We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment.

The Pentagon recently declassified footage of 15 of more than 180 risky and unprofessional intercepts it has documented over the past two years. The videos show Chinese fighters making high-speed passes, cutting across the nose of other planes, and firing flares.

China, which has called the U.S. the world's "fundamental source of chaos," countered with footage of allegedly aggressive maneuvers by U.S. forces.

One video accused U.S. vessels of interfering with a Chinese naval exercise, while another said a U.S. destroyer sailing further away was "invading China's territorial waters" in the South China Sea. A third video captured Chinese and American planes in close proximity to each other, but it's unclear which aircraft had approached which.

China claims sovereignty over 80 percent of the South China Sea, including waters claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. Beijing continues to disregard an international arbitral court ruling that rejected this claim in 2016.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated that $3.37 trillion worth of global trade, or 21 percent, passed through the sea in 2016.

Taking into account unprofessional and dangerous maneuvers performed near the aircraft of U.S. allies and partners, the number of episodes involving Chinese pilots balloons from over 180 to 300, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said at a recent press conference.

Earlier this month, a camera crew aboard a Canadian surveillance plane, also in international airspace, recorded one such incident. Last year, a Chinese fighter making a close pass reportedly released metal-containing chaff that was sucked into an Australian plane's engine.

Provocative actions by China's military have not been limited to the air. Philippine ships collided with Chinese coast guard and Maritime Militia vessels that were attempting to block them from resupplying a marine outpost on a Philippine-held shoal. A supply ship and a Philippine coast guard escort were damaged, though no injuries were reported.

China has abandoned high-level communication links between with the U.S. military, Washington has said, expressing concern that this could increases the risk of a miscalculation turning deadly. U.S. officials are sending a delegation to an annual Chinese defense summit in the coming days, in hopes of restoring communication to some degree.