It wasn’t exactly Top Gun.
    In the latest flare-up between China and Japan, each country alleges jets from the other side flew dangerously close in an encounter over the East China Sea.
    This time, a Chinese aviator appears to have caught at least part of the incident on tape. China’s Defense Ministry on Thursday released video clips purporting to document the incident. The video, which could not be independently confirmed, shows the what appear to be two different Japanese fighter jets flying a stone’s throw from the Chinese plane, though from what the video shows none of the aircraft appeared to making any particularly threatening moves.
    Both sides have responded with statements of criticism for the other.
    “The Chinese pilot’s operation is professional, standardized and maintaining restraint,” China’s Defense Ministry said in a statement regarding the incident. “The Japanese pilot’s way of handling was dangerous and possessed clearly provocative characteristics.”
    Japan said it had filed a complaint through diplomatic channels over the incident.
    The East China Sea has been the site of occasional run-ins between Chinese and Japanese forces. Both countries claim a group of small, uninhabited islands in the sea. The islands, known as the Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese, are controlled by Japan, but the site of long-running tensions between the nations.
    Here’s a longer version of the Chinese footage, showing both Japanese planes:
    For more exciting video of a Chinese fighter jet in action – which alas turns out to have borrowed heavily from a certain movie featuring characters named Maverick and Goose – see this CRT post from 2011.
    – Brian Spegele. Follow him on Twitter @bspegele.
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