Two Chinese fighter jets carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a US military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, a further escalation of tensions in and around the contested waterway. The incident took place in international airspace on Tuesday, with the two Chinese jets coming within 15 meters of the US maritime patrol aircraft as it carried out "a routine US patrol," a Pentagon statement said.

Chinese jets intercept US spy plane, says Pentagon. (2016, May 20). Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A10.