Chinese Fighter Jet Intercepted US Navy Plane , Says Pentagon

The Pentagon has filed a diplomatic complaint with the People's Liberation Army for the dangerous interception of a US navy surveillance and reconnaissance plane by a Chinese fighter jet on Tuesday.

The incident, took place in international airspace off the Chinese coast, the Pentagon said, according to The New York Times.

Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, described the encounter, which is also known as an intercept as "very very close" and "very dangerous".

The incident started with the Chinese fighter jet flying closely beneath the US Navy's P-8 Poseidon. The fighter jet then started flying parallel to the Poseidon. At this point, the distance between the wingtips of both planes was less than 30 feet.

The Chinese fighter then performed a barrel roll, so as to display its weapons to the US pilot, reports The New York Times.

"This kind of behavior not only is unprofessional, it's unsafe and it's certainly not in keeping with the kind of military-to-military relations that we'd like to have with China," Kirby said, according to Los Angeles Times.

Kirby added that the US had registered its strong concerns to the Chinese regarding the unsafe and unprofessional intercept, which also bought risked the safety of the air crew.

The intercept was also contradictory with the usual international law, he said.

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes called the intercept as a deeply concerning provocation, adding that such actions violated the spirit of constructive military ties the US wants with China, reports The Washington Post.