Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted an American surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea, U.S. officials said Monday. The incident happened over the weekend.

Two U.S. military officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that one of the Chinese J-10 fighter jets flew directly in front of the U.S. Navy EP-3, forcing the American aircraft to take “evasive action” to avoid a collision. One of the Chinese jets was armed.

The American reconnaissance plane was conducting normal operations over international waters 80 nautical miles from the Chinese city of Qingdao when the incident occurred.

Such incidents are becoming increasingly common around China’s coastline. In May, Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. plane designed to detect radiation as it flew over international waters.
…