The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) had a brush with a Chinese military jet on Monday after it intercepted a Canadian Aurora aircraft in an “aggressive manner” while flying over international waters off the coast of China.
The CAF is currently operating in the area to help enforce sanctions against North Korea as part of Operation NEON.
“They became very aggressive and to a degree we would deem it unsafe and unprofessional,” said Maj.-Gen. Iain Huddleston in an interview with Global News.
During the eight-hour CAF mission two different planes and possibly more consistently intercepted the Canadian aircraft over several hours.
“It’s a ramp-up of the aggressiveness that’s really unexpected and unnecessary in the context of the mission that we’re flying,” remarked Huddleston.
The majority of intercepts were conducted in what the CAF called a professional manner; however at one point the last Chinese jet flew as close as five metres from the Aurora aircraft, creating a blind spot for the Canadian plane. The Chinese jet remained in dangerously close proximity and was armed with air-to-air missiles.
“I’m concerned when they do that. There’s a heightened risk to those sorts of interactions and we’d like to avoid those as much as we can. We record these things up through the chain with the evidence we gather and then allow our diplomatic agencies to become involved,” said Huddleston.
Additionally, multiple flares, akin to fireworks, were shot off near the CAF plane by the Chinese jet.
While the flares were being launched, the crew aboard the Aurora aircraft had lost contact with their base due a glitch in their telecommunications.
“The first flare incident, the fighter released two flares off our wing. So, that’s not particularly concerning because the fighter was stable, it moved away from us. […] But then the pilots reported it fired flares thereafter from near the front of the plane so that’s much more concerning. In terms of escalation that’s a very unsafe act,” said Huddleston.
Those aboard the CAF plane were attempting to assist in the blocking of illegal oil shipments to North Korea. While conducting their surveillance, the 13-member crew discovered and identified a listed “vessel of interest.”
“We’re here enforcing a United Nations resolution. We are not here acting against the Chinese. We don’t want to have anything untoward happen that would result in loss of life,” said Huddleston.
The reason for China’s aggressive behaviour remains unknown to Huddleston, as the Canadian crew kept their flight path within international waters. The crew also had ongoing communications with the Chinese pilots to identify themselves and the purpose of their mission.
In June, a Chinese warship almost collided with an American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon during a Canada-U.S. joint mission to sail through the Taiwan Strait.
