US officials announced that the US Navy's Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft and China's KJ-200 aircraft crossed dangerously close to eachother while flying in international airspace. The incident took place on the 8th of February at an altitude about 305 meters in Scarborough shallow, located in the South China Sea. Similar events were experienced twice in 2016. The US Navy believes the incident is inadvertent. The US Navy voiced their concern that Chinese military forces were concerned about the insecure interactions and that they believed the issue can be solved through diplomatic channels. The Chinese Ministry of Defence informed local sources that the pilot was acting with legal and professional measures.