OTTAWA-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the actions of Chinese pilots on Canadian planes participating in a United Nations mission irresponsible and provocative.
At a news conference on Monday, Trudeau condemned China’s actions against Canadian planes participating in a UN multilateral mission over the Pacific Ocean to enforce sanctions against North Korea.
“China’s actions are irresponsible and provocative and we will continue to firmly record that they are putting people at risk and at the same time not respecting UN decisions,” the prime minister said.
Last week, the Canadian military accused Chinese planes of failing to follow international safety standards on several occasions and of endangering a Canadian crew. A statement said Chinese planes were trying to divert a long-range Canadian patrol plane from its path and that the crew had to change direction quickly to avoid a possible collision.
“These interactions are worrisome and of increasing frequency,” the statement said.
The Canadian plane was deployed from April 26 to May 26 to join other countries in monitoring ship transfers between ships at sea that could help North Korea evade UN sanctions on its ships. missiles and nuclear tests. It is suspected that Chinese ships were involved in the transfers. The United States and Japan have also been involved in surveillance.
China on Monday defended its military pilots, saying they acted correctly and were protecting their sovereignty, following recent complaints from Canada and Australia that Chinese planes were involved in risky maneuvers with their planes over the Pacific.
Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said that China “quickly took reasonable, forceful and professional measures in response to provocative acts and unfriendly and unprofessional operations in Canada.”
Wu said in a statement that Canada has stepped up its close recognition of China under the pretext of implementing UN sanctions. He said Canada will take responsibility for any serious consequences of what it called its risky and provocative acts.
Conservative Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Chong said Canada should tell China that its actions were “unacceptable” and also “dangerous and reckless”.
“China’s buzzing of a Canadian Forces plane over international waters is reckless and unprofessional,” Chong said.
A 2001 collision between a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese Air Force plane killed the Chinese pilot and detained the U.S. crew for 10 days by China.
In another incident, newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on a visit to Indonesia on Monday, described the May 26 actions of a Chinese fighter jet as a dangerous act of aggression against a force plane. Australian air force conducting air surveillance in the South China Sea. .
The Chinese J-16 accelerated and cut in front of the Australian plane, releasing straw with small pieces of aluminum that were sucked into the latter’s engine, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense has not commented on the incident.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the Chinese military always conducts operations based on international law and practice and in a safe and professional manner.
“We urge Australia to respect China’s national security interests and main concerns, and to be cautious with its words and deeds to avoid a miscalculation that could have serious consequences,” he said.
China claims numerous small islands and reefs in the South China Sea and says the area around these outcrops is its territorial waters and airspace. The waters are an important shipping route for all countries in the region, including Australia, which together with the United States says it wants to ensure freedom of navigation for them.
Zhao said China would not allow any country to violate its sovereignty in the name of freedom of navigation.
He also accused Canada of spreading misinformation and said it should adopt a moderate and pragmatic policy towards China and take concrete steps to improve relations between the two.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 6, 2022.
– With archives of The Associated Press