As an airman, in the vernacular, I'm familiar with the term. It would speak to flying close enough to someone that you would certainly give them cause to recognize your presence, so they're probably synonymous, sir.
Again, I think what's more important to note on this is that the aircraft they were approaching had no hostile indications. There were no radars locked on. There were no visible armaments. The airplanes were unarmed, so for the ship itself, the captain reported that at no time did he feel under threat. I think it was just a bit of a sensational moment that caught the eye of the press here.