"@PzFeed: Chinese fighter jet flew as close as 20 feet (7m) to U.S. Navy plane and conducted a barrel roll over it - Reuters"

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The Pentagon on Friday blamed China Friday for instigating a dangerous mid-air encounter with a U.S. military aircraft off the coast of China, saying that a Chinese fighter jet made several threatening passes in an attempt to block its flight.

Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said the U.S. government filed a formal complaint with China about what he called a “dangerous intercept” of a Navy Poseidon P-8 patrol aircraft about 130 miles east of Hainan Island. The incident occurred on Tuesday, he said.

Kirby said the Chinese fighter jet brought one of its wingtips within 20 feet of the Poseidon, performed a “barrel roll” at close range and also flashed past the nose of the U.S. aircraft at a 90-degree angle with its underside exposed, apparently “to make a point of showing its weapons.”

“This kind of behavior, not only is unprofessional, it’s unsafe,” Kirby told reporters.

The risky incident was the latest in a series of near-misses between Chinese and American ships and aircraft as both countries have sought to assert their military might in the East China and South China seas.

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