Image copyright AFP Image caption File picture of the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet

Two Chinese Sukhoi Su-30 jets have conducted an "unprofessional" intercept of a US aircraft, the US military said.

One of the Chinese jets came as close as 150ft (45m) to the US WC-135 plane and flew upside down above it, according to US officials cited by CNN.

The US says the plane was on a mission to detect radiation in international airspace over the East China Sea.

Tensions have repeatedly risen over US activity near the resource-rich international waters off China's coast.

The intercept, which took place on Wednesday, was deemed unprofessional "due to the manoeuvres by the Chinese pilot, as well as the speeds and proximity of both aircraft," Air Force spokesman Lt Col Lori Hodge said.

She said the issue was "being addressed with China through appropriate diplomatic and military channels", and a military investigation was under way.

China has not commented on the incident, but it accuses the US of carrying out reconnaissance flights over Chinese coastal waters and regularly calls on the US to reduce patrols in the area.

China claims sovereignty over almost all of the disputed territory in the South and East China seas, though several other countries in the region have competing claims.

China has backed its expansive claims with island-building and naval patrols.

The US sniffer aircraft has previously been used to detect evidence of possible nuclear tests by North Korea.

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'Routine operations'

Separately, China and South East Asian countries have agreed a framework for a long-awaited code of conduct for the disputed South China Sea, China's foreign ministry said, without giving details on the content.

It will now be submitted to the foreign ministers of the countries in August.

Over the years, the US, China and several of the South East Asian countries have had disputes over rival activity in the South China Sea.

In February, a US aircraft carrier started what Washington described as "routine operations" in the South China Sea, with a fleet of supporting warships.

The deployment came despite Chinese warnings against challenging Beijing's sovereignty in the region.

In May 2016, two Chinese fighters carried out a similar intercept of a US military aircraft over the South China Sea.

At the time, the US military said its maritime reconnaissance aircraft was carrying out a routine patrol in the area.

In 2001, a Chinese jet and a US Navy surveillance aircraft collided off Hainan Island, killing the Chinese pilot.

The US spy plane was forced to make an emergency landing on the island and China held the crew members for 11 days, sparking a major diplomatic standoff.</s>Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. "sniffer" plane over the East China Sea, two U.S. military officials told NBC News on Thursday.

The WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft, which "sniffs" the atmosphere for signs of nuclear activity, was conducting a routine mission Wednesday in international airspace over the East China Sea when two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft intercepted it, the officials said.

The officials wouldn't say whether the confrontation was considered unsafe, but they said the crew of the U.S. plane described it as "unprofessional." The U.S. plane was operating in accordance with international law, they said.

Officials said the matter was being addressed with China through "appropriate diplomatic channels."</s>The incident took place in international airspace last week as the plane carried out "a routine U.S. patrol", the Pentagon said.

A U.S. defense official said two Chinese J-11 fighter jets flew within 50 feet (15 meters) of the U.S. EP-3 aircraft. The official said the incident took place east of Hainan island.

Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a monthly news briefing China's aircraft acted completely professionally and in line with an agreement reached between the countries on rules governing such encounters.

However, he said the agreement, called the Rules of Behaviour for Safety of Air and Maritime Encounters, could only provide a "technical standard", and the best way of resolving the problem was for the U.S. to stop such flights.

"That's the real source of danger for Sino-U.S. military safety at sea and in the air," he said.

The encounter came shortly after China scrambled fighter jets as a U.S. Navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea.

Another Chinese intercept took place in 2014 when a Chinese fighter pilot flew acrobatic maneuvers around a U.S. spy plane.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.

Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea after creating artificial islands, while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased U.S. naval patrols and exercises in Asia.</s>Japanese air force jet scrambled around 200 times in the three months ending on Thursday compared with 114 times in the year-earlier period, he said. Detailed figures for the period will be announced next week.

"It appears that Chinese activity is escalating at sea and in the air," Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces, said at a regular press briefing in Tokyo.

Japan is embroiled in a dispute with China in the East China Sea over ownership of a group of islands which lie about 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Taiwan known as the Senkakus in Tokyo and the Diaoyu islands in Beijing.

Japan is worried that China is escalating its activity in the East China Sea in response to Tokyo's pledge to support countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and Vietnam, that oppose China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Kawano said that Japan was "very concerned," about how China will react to a ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration in a case brought by the Philippines on China's claims. The ruling is due on July 12.

Manila is contesting China's claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, arguing it violates the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and restricts its rights to exploit resources within its exclusive economic zone.

China has refused to recognise the case.</s>Japan's top military commander said on Thursday that Chinese military activity was escalating in the East China Sea, with a spike in emergency jet scrambles in the past three months.

"It appears that Chinese activity is escalating at sea and in the air," Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces, said at a regular press briefing in Tokyo.

Japanese air force jet scrambles rose by more than 80 in the three months ending on Thursday from 114 a year earlier, he said. Detailed figures for the period will be announced next week.

Kawano also said that Japan was "very concerned," about how China will react to the expected ruling by an international court on China's territorial claims in the South China Sea on July 12. (Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Nick Macfie)</s>Group of Seven (G7) leaders agreed on Thursday they need to send a strong message on the South and East China Sea in which China is locked in territorial disputes with Japan and some Southeast Asian neighbours.

"Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe led discussion on the current situation in the South China Sea and East China Sea. Other G7 leaders said it is necessary for G7 to issue a clear signal," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko told reporters.</s>The AG600, which is about the size of a Boeing 737 and was developed by state aircraft maker Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), rolled off a production line in the southern city of Zhuhai on Saturday, Xinhua said quoting the firm.

AVIC deputy general manager, Geng Rugang, said the plane was "the latest breakthrough in China's aviation industry." A plan for the development and production of the AG600 received government approval in 2009.

The aircraft has a maximum flight range of 4,500 km and can collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds. It has a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes, Xinhua said.

China has been ramping up research into advanced new military equipment, including submarines, aircraft carriers and anti-satellite missiles, which has rattled nerves regionally and in Washington as China takes a more muscular approach to territorial disputes in places like the South China Sea.

In June, it put into service a new domestically-developed large transport aircraft.</s>The Philippines said the incident happened on Jan. 7 to an aircraft inspecting Thitu Island in the Spratlys, where Manila plans to set up surveillance equipment this year, as their aircraft flew near a Chinese man-made island.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei repeated that China has sovereignty over the Spratlys and that the Philippines had illegally occupied eight islands there since the 1970s, including Thitu, and had been building on them.

"The Philippines' comments are just frightening words to scare people, deliberately exaggerating regional tensions with treacherous intent, and its plots will not succeed," Hong said, when asked about the warning to the Philippine aircraft.

The Philippines plans to install a $1 million satellite-based system on Thitu to track commercial flights over the South China Sea, after China landed its first test flights this month on a reef it built in the Spratly islands.

Hong said that any activities by the Philippines on the islands it occupies were illegal.

China's increasing military presence in the Spratlys has stirred fears it could lead to an air defence zone, which would escalate tension with other claimants, and the United States, in one of the world's most volatile areas.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge oil and gas deposits, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, through which about $5 trillion in trade passes every year.

The Philippines and Vietnam protested against China's test flights on the Fiery Cross Reef this month.

"The concerns about the recent activities of China along with the reclamation activities and construction of airstrips in the disputed territory is shared by other countries as it adds to the tension in the region," said Herminio Coloma, Philippine presidential communications secretary.

It "causes concern about the freedom of freedom of navigation and overflight in the area", Coloma added.</s>Icelandair, a subsidiary of Icelandair Group, has signed an agreement for sale and leaseback of four Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. One aircraft will be delivered in the first quarter of 2018 and three in the first quarter of 2019. Two of the aircraft are Boeing 737 MAX8 and two are Boeing 737 MAX9. Icelandair has an option to add two aircraft to the agreement. The Lessor is BOCOMM Leasing Aviation, a subsidiary of Bank of Communication in China. The lease periods are almost 9 years. 



"We are very pleased that financing of our 737 MAX Aircraft is going as planned. Our work to finance other aircraft to be delivered in 2018 and 2019 is ongoing and progressing well." said Bogi Nils Bogason, CFO of Icelandair Group. 



"We are delighted to be able support Icelandair with a sale and leaseback solution and to welcome Icelandair to our international customer base. We look forward to seeing these aircraft in service and working with Icelandair in the future." Says Li Ru, the Senior Vice President of BOCOMM leasing. 





For further information, please contact:



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+ 354 665 88 01</s>Two Japanese fighter jets took "provocative actions" at a high speed near a pair of Chinese fighter jets that were carrying out patrols in the East China Sea on June 17, China's defence ministry said in a microblog statement on Monday, without specifying where exactly the incident took place.

The Japanese planes used fire-control radar to "light up" the Chinese aircraft, the statement added.

Japan's senior military officer has acknowledged there was a scramble but has denied that any radar lock by the Chinese jet occurred or that the incident turned dangerous.

"The Japanese plane's provocative actions caused an accident in the air, endangering the safety of personnel on both sides, and destroying the peace and stability in the region," China's Defence Ministry said, adding the Chinese aircraft "responded resolutely".

China called on Japan to cease all provocative action, the statement added.

The statement about the incident comes after Japan's top military commander accused China of escalating military activity in the East China Sea, saying Japanese emergency scrambles to counter Chinese jets almost doubled over the past three months.

Japan is embroiled in a dispute with China in the East China Sea over ownership of a group of islands which lie about 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Taiwan, known as the Senkakus in Tokyo and the Diaoyu islands in Beijing.

Japan is worried that China is escalating its activity in the East China Sea in response to Tokyo's pledge to support countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and Vietnam, that oppose China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Two Chinese aircraft intercept a US WC-135 aircraft over the East China Sea.