WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Davis explained the incident took place near Scarborough Shoal when the Chinese KJ-200 "crossed the nose of the P-3 causing the P-3 to have to turn immediately."
"A US P-3 Orion and Chinese KJ-200 came within 1000 feet of each other on February 8, but there is no evidence that the close encounter was intentional," Davis said on Friday.
28 October 2016, 15:38 GMT
However, Davis noted that such incidents, compared to flyby incidents that have occurred 20 years ago, are rare.
US-Chinese interactions are now largely professional and safe, he added.
In the present case, radio contact between the two aircraft was conducted professionally, Davis concluded.
