BEIJING: China's Defense Ministry has accused the United States of 'interference and surveillance' of a naval exercise in the South China Sea (SCS) ahead of an incident in which a Chinese fighter pilot flew at high speed in front of a US Air Force reconnaissance plane, underscoring the rupture in contacts between their militaries.

A statement issued on Wednesday night by the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command said it had 'organized air forces to track and monitor the whole process, dealt with it according to laws and regulations, and operated professionally.'