The Ministry of National Defense said that what the U.S. media reported as China's recent interception of U.S. reconnaissance aircraft above the South China Sea "is probably concerning the close-in reconnaissance by U.S. military aircraft against China".
The Pentagon said in a Wednesday statement that two Chinese fighter jets carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.
The statement said the incident took place in international airspace on Tuesday as the U.S. maritime patrol aircraft carried out "a routine U.S. patrol," Reuters reported.
In response to China Daily's request for comment, the ministry said that "we have taken notice of the relevant media report".
"According to the reported situation, this is probably concerning the close-in reconnaissance by U.S. military aircraft against China. We will embark on understanding and evaluating the relevant situation," the ministry added.
