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Chinese fighter jet comes within 200ft of Philippine plane in mid-air standoff
This is the moment a Chinese fighter jet appears to intercept a Philippine Coast Guard aircraft carrying journalists during a patrol near Scarborough Shoal.
Footage onboard the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) plane shows the jet flying within 200 feet, circling and matching the aircraft’s course for 20 minutes. Chinese navy ships below can be heard demanding the aircraft “leave immediately” on the cockpit radio.
It happened around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, a disputed atoll 140 miles west of the Philippines. At least four Chinese coast guard vessels, suspected “maritime militia” ships, and two U.S. warships were nearby.
The incident comes after a Beijing warship accidentally crashed into a smaller PCG ship on Monday (11 August) in the same area. China claims almost the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 tribunal ruling rejecting its claims.
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