<p> Two Chinese jets conducted an "unsafe" intercept of a US spy plane over the East China Sea, officials said, but the Pentagon downplayed the encounter and blamed it on shoddy piloting.<br /><br /></p>.<p>According to US Pacific Command spokesman Commander David Benham, two Chinese J-10 fighter jets yesterday flew close to an American RC-135 reconnaissance plane that was on a routine patrol.<br /><br />"One of the intercepting Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the RC-135 aircraft," Benham said, without specifying exactly where the incident occurred.<br /><br />"Initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe maneuvers occurred."<br /><br />The East China Sea is part of the Pacific and home to small islands whose ownership is disputed by China, Japan and Taiwan.<br /><br />China also claims a string of islets across the South China Sea and its military expansion in the contested waterway has sparked heightened tensions with regional neighbors and the United States.<br /><br />Yesterday's intercept came as US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Beijing and urged China to settle its territorial rows peacefully and based on the "rule of law."<br /><br />Pentagon chief Ashton Carter attended a security summit in Singapore over the weekend, promising unspecified "actions" if China continued its buildup.<br /><br />On May 17, the Pentagon said two Chinese jets conducted another "unsafe" intercept of a US reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea.<br /><br />Still, PACOM head Admiral Harry Harris told reporters in Singapore on Saturday that such incidents were rare.</p>
<p> Two Chinese jets conducted an "unsafe" intercept of a US spy plane over the East China Sea, officials said, but the Pentagon downplayed the encounter and blamed it on shoddy piloting.<br /><br /></p>.<p>According to US Pacific Command spokesman Commander David Benham, two Chinese J-10 fighter jets yesterday flew close to an American RC-135 reconnaissance plane that was on a routine patrol.<br /><br />"One of the intercepting Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the RC-135 aircraft," Benham said, without specifying exactly where the incident occurred.<br /><br />"Initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe maneuvers occurred."<br /><br />The East China Sea is part of the Pacific and home to small islands whose ownership is disputed by China, Japan and Taiwan.<br /><br />China also claims a string of islets across the South China Sea and its military expansion in the contested waterway has sparked heightened tensions with regional neighbors and the United States.<br /><br />Yesterday's intercept came as US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Beijing and urged China to settle its territorial rows peacefully and based on the "rule of law."<br /><br />Pentagon chief Ashton Carter attended a security summit in Singapore over the weekend, promising unspecified "actions" if China continued its buildup.<br /><br />On May 17, the Pentagon said two Chinese jets conducted another "unsafe" intercept of a US reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea.<br /><br />Still, PACOM head Admiral Harry Harris told reporters in Singapore on Saturday that such incidents were rare.</p>