(AFP) --- Fighter jets from South Korea and the United
States intercepted two Russian warplanes after they flew
near a US
aircraft carrier operating off the Korean peninsula, officials said Thursday.
White House
spokesman Josh Earnest said the USS Ronald Reagan -- a massive, nuclear-powered
supercarrier -- was involved in a military exercise with South Korean partners
when two Russian Tu-142 Bear aircraft flew past the ship.
"These Russian
aircraft were intercepted first by Korean military aircraft that were operating
in the region," Earnest said. Four American F/A-18s were then mobilized.
Earnest sought to
downplay the incident in the Sea of Japan (East Sea ),
calling it "not a particularly threatening encounter" and noted that
the USS Ronald Reagan was operating in international waters at the time.
"This is a
particular situation that did not result in a significant confrontation,"
he said.
The two Russian
Tu-142 Bear aircraft were flying about a mile from the carrier at an altitude
of 500 feet (150 meters) on Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis
said.
He said there was
no evidence the Russian planes posed a direct threat. Tu-142 Bears are
primarily reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft.
Still, the carrier
scrambled four F/A-18 fighters to intercept and escort the Russian aircraft, he
said.
One of the US ships
accompanying the USS Ronald Reagan tried to hail the Russian aircraft by radio
but did not receive a response, he added.
"It's standard
operating procedure for US planes to escort any aircraft that are flying
anywhere in the vicinity of US Navy ships," Davis said. "The interaction was characterized
as safe."
"Any time
there are aircraft that are operating in close proximity to a US Navy ship,
particularly an aircraft carrier, we are going to take action to launch and
make sure we are tracking it very closely," Davis said.
He said this kind
of incident is not unprecedented, noting: "It doesn't happen frequently
but this did occur."
The incident comes
after Russia and the United States on October 10 signed a memorandum
of understanding that establishes protocols for pilots flying over Syria .
Both Russia and a
US-led coalition are conducting separate bombing campaigns in the war-torn
country. Though they are mainly operating in different regions, officials are
worried about planes crashing into each other in the sky.
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