China urges U.S. to stop reconnaissance flights near its territory

BEIJING (Reuters) - China urged the United States on Wednesday to stop reconnaissance flights near China, the Foreign Ministry said, after U.S. defense officials said a Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. spy plane in international airspace over the East China Sea. Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a regular briefing. (Reporting By Ben Blanchard; Writing By Megha Rajagopalan)