HONG KONG—When a Chinese jet fighter banked 400 feet in front of a U.S. spy plane flying over the South China Sea last week, it was the latest close encounter between the rival military powers highlighting the risk of escalation.
The U.S. has warned that the two militaries aren’t communicating. China rebuffed Washington’s push for a face-to-face between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu at an annual security conference in Singapore this week, pointing to sanctions Washington has put on Li.