A Chinese air force fighter armed with air-to-air missiles flew within 500 feet of a U.S. Navy plane over the South China Sea, warning the pilot to "keep a safe distance" from Chinese airspace or "you will be intercepted."
A CNN crew was aboard the U.S. plane when the incident happened Friday, which Navy Cmdr. Marc Hines, commander of the U.S. Navy mission, said amounted to "another Friday afternoon in the South China Sea."
Capt. Will Toraason, the commander of the U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, told the Wall Street Journal "the long-term trend is more and more aggression" by Chinese fighter pilots.
U.S.-China relations have worsened in recent months in part because of Beijing's increasingly hostile behavior toward the South China Sea and Taiwan.
On Thursday, the Journal reported the U.S. plans to deploy 100 to 200 troops to Taiwan in the coming months, up from roughly 30 there a year ago, as the Pentagon works to provide Taipei with the capabilities it needs to defend itself if China attacks the island.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and has been stepping up its military and diplomatic harassment. The sides split amid civil war in 1949, and China's authoritarian Communist Party has never held sway over the island.
Tensions between the U.S. and China again ratcheted up last month after Washington accused Beijing of sending a spy balloon that was shot down off the South Carolina coast. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing after the incident and said over the weekend that the U.S. was concerned China would provide weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
China, which has declared a "no limits" friendship with Russia, has refused to criticize Moscow's actions, blaming the U.S. and NATO for provoking the Kremlin, and has blasted the punishing sanctions imposed on Russia. Russia, in turn, has strongly backed China over Taiwan.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.