A Chinese fighter pilot performed an "unnecessarily aggressive manoeuvre" near an American surveillance aircraft flying over the South China Sea last week, the US military said.

The Chinese plane "flew directly in front of and within 400 feet of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the US aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence" on Friday, the Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.

The incident - which the Pentagon says is part of a pattern of behaviour by China - comes at a time of already heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after traversing the United States earlier this year.

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