US officials confirmed yesterday that a US spy plane on a reconnaissance mission off the coast of the mainland had been intercepted earlier in the week by two Chinese F-8 fighters, which came within several kilometers of the aircraft.
The Pentagon played down the incident, which occurred southeast of China and southwest of Taiwan at a time of tension between Beijing and Taipei, saying it had happened many times before.
Officials at Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense confirmed on Thursday that the incident had taken place, but emphasized it had little to do with Taiwan as the encounter had not occurred in the Taiwan Strait.
"There was an RC-135 aircraft well into international airspace that was approached by two Chinese fighters," Rear Admiral Craig Quigley said, adding that it was not "a particularly unusual event."
The US reconnaissance plane was "dozens of miles" off the coast of China when the incident occurred, he said.
"Many nations around the world send up aircraft to just have a look-see as to who is getting close to their airspace," he said, recalling that US fighters often scrambled during the Cold War to keep tabs on Soviet Bear bombers flying down the US east coast.
"So this was a relatively common event," he said. "Not only in that part of the world but in other parts of the world."
Asked if Chinese aircraft had approached US aircraft before, he said, "Oh, many times before."
He said there was no communication between the Chinese fighters and the RC-135 and the spy plane did not alter its flight path.
"At no time did the aircrew feel threatened," he said.
The incident was first disclosed by a Taiwanese Internet news outlet, which said the US aircraft was intercepted while spying on Chinese military movements in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces.
"This was the first time in three years the People's Liberation Army air force scrambled to intercept an unidentified aircraft out of its airspace," Taiwan's ET Today Internet news quoted an unnamed general as saying.
"The move suggested that some PLA units, very likely ballistic missile units, must be moving on the borders of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces," he said.
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