China issues stern rebuke over flight

Surveillance aircraft intercepted by 2 J-10 fighter jets over East China Sea

China urged the United States to immediately stop its "unsafe, unprofessional and unfriendly dangerous military activity" after a US Navy surveillance plane flew in airspace over the East China Sea on Sunday.

"China's Air Force dealt with it in accordance with laws and regulations. The Chinese pilots' maneuvers are legal, necessary and professional," Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said in a statement on Tuesday.