A Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet (three metres) of an American B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea, nearly causing an accident, the US military has said. In the night intercept, the Shenyang J-11 twin-engine fighter closed on the U.S. Air Force plane at an “uncontrolled excessive speed, flying below, in front of, and within 10 feet of the B-52, putting both aircraft in danger of a collision,” the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement released onThursday. The military said: “We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision.” China’s Foreign Ministry put the blame on the US suggesting the American aircraft was flying over the South China Sea as a deliberate provocation.