China-US flashpoint: Chinese fighter jets clash with US Navy aircraft: Report

 China-US flashpoint: Chinese fighter jets clash with US Navy aircraft: Report

Amid rising tensions between China and the United States, CNN has reported a serious incident off the South China Sea when a Chinese fighter jet confronted a US Navy aircraft with its reporters on board.

The report claimed that a US Navy jet that was flying at 21,500 feet above the South China Sea, 30 miles from the Paracel Islands with Chinese military bases, was shot down by a Chinese fighter jet armed with an air-to-air missile. stopped.

The report claimed that the Chinese jet was so close that the CNN crew could see the pilots 'make out the red star on the tail fin and was armed with missiles'.

The crew also heard a voice on the US Navy P-8 Poseidon's radio saying, 'This is coming from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) air base' and saying, 'US aircraft. Chinese airspace is 12 nautical miles. Not coming anymore or you bear all the responsibility.

Since the crew members of the publication had access to the radio voice of the aircraft, it reported a conversation between the two pilots.

The twin-seat, twin-engine PLA aircraft was cheered by Lieutenant Nikki Slaughter, pilot of the American aircraft.

“PLA fighter plane, this is the US Navy P-8A… I have turned you away from my left wing and I want to move west. I request you to do the same," Lieutenant Nikki Slaughter, the pilot of the American plane, was reported to have said.

After a long silence of 15 minutes, the Chinese fighter plane overturned.

CNN interviewed Navy Cmdr. Mark Hines, who claimed 'It's another Friday afternoon in the South China Sea.

This is not the only face-off the two countries have seen of late. The South China Sea has emerged as a major potential flashpoint in the Asia Pacific, providing a strategic waterway for vast resources and passing global shipping worth $3.4 trillion.