In some cases, Chinese warplanes have come so close that Canadian aircraft have had to change course to avoid a collision, the Canadian Armed Forces said on Wednesday.
“In these interactions, PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) aircraft do not adhere to international air safety standards. These interactions are unprofessional and / or endanger the safety of our RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) personnel, “said Dan Le. Bouthillier, head of media relations for the Canadian Armed Forces.
Canada claims that the alleged encounters took place in international airspace during the last iteration of Operation NEON, Canada’s contribution to the application of sanctions in North Korea. He did not give specific dates, but said meetings were becoming more frequent.
The Chinese plane was sometimes so close that its crew was “very clearly visible” to Canadian aircraft personnel, Le Bouthillier said.
The Canadian aircraft involved was a CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft operating from Kadena Air Base in Japan. Le Bouthillier said the plane left Okinawa base from April 26 to May 26.
Canada had addressed the issue with Beijing through diplomacy, Le Bouthillier said.
CNN has asked Chinese officials to comment.
Global News of Canada was the first to report the alleged encounters.
Canadian flights from Operation NEON seek “suspicious activities to evade maritime sanctions, in particular transfers of fuel and other ship-to-ship cargo prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions,” Le Bouthillier said.
“These sanctions, imposed between 2006 and 2017, are aimed at pressuring North Korea to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs and respond to nuclear weapons tests and North Korean ballistic missile launches.”
The alleged incidents would not be the first tense encounters between Chinese and Canadian military ships.
In 2019, two Chinese fighter jets hummed a Canadian warship in the East China Sea in what the Chinese media described as a “warm welcome.”
The incident between the frigate HMCS Regina and two Chinese Su-30 fighters took place while the ship was in international waters off Shanghai, with fighter jets less than 300 meters (1,000 feet) from the bow of the ships. Canadian war, according to reports at the time. .
There have been other close encounters between Chinese and foreign warplanes over the years.
The worst of them occurred in 2001, when a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.
In this case, the pilot of the Chinese F-8 fighter jet died and the American plane had to make an emergency landing on the island of Hainan in China. The 24 U.S. crew members were detained on the Chinese island for 11 days prior to their release.