Chinese fighter jets intercepted an Australian plane in the South China Sea region during a routine Australian surveillance activity in international airspace, the security department said in a press release on Saturday.
The interception caused a “dangerous maneuver” that posed a threat to the safety of the Australian maritime aircraft RAAF P-8 and its crew on 26 May.
Read more: Canada alarms when Chinese fighter pilots “burn” Canadian planes over international waters
The Australian government says it has raised concerns about the interception in the Chinese government.
“Defense has been conducting maritime surveillance activities in the region for decades and is doing so in accordance with international law, exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace,” the Department of Defense said. .
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The incident comes just after several Canadian Forces and federal government sources told Global News that Chinese planes were repeatedly “browning” a Canadian international waters surveillance aircraft as part of a United Nations mission. .
As of this spring, there have been about 60 interceptions with Chinese fighter jets and more than two dozen have been dangerous, according to sources in Global News.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also spoken out and said his government will address interception reports directly with Chinese officials to make sure they are not part of a “scaling issue”.
“We take this situation very seriously,” Trudeau told reporters as he spoke at a Siksika First Nation event in Alberta on June 2.
Read more: “On” the behavior of Chinese aircraft pilots will be discussed with the UN Security Council: Joly
“The fact that China has chosen to do this is extremely worrying, so we will talk directly with Chinese officials and (government) counterparts and make sure that this does not continue to be part of a climbing pattern.”
– With files from Mercedes Stephenson and Sean Boynton of Global News
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.