Canada’s military patrol aircraft monitor North Korea’s sanction evasions are being harassed by Chinese warplanes that are sometimes forcing them to divert from their flight paths, Canada accuses.
According to the Canadian Armed Forces’ statement issued on Wednesday, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) aircraft approached a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft on several occasions from April 26 to May 26.
The statement said that the Chinese warplane interacted in an unprofessional manner, not adhering to international air safety norms, and put the safety of RCAF personnel at risk during those interactions.
The Canadian aircrew felt so at risk in some instances, as the Canadian Armed Forces claim, that they were forced to quickly change their flight path in order to avoid a potential collision with the intercepting Chinese aircraft.
As part of Ottawa’s “Operation NEON”, the Canadian aircraft is part of the operations that include deploying military ships, aircraft, and personnel to identify suspected sanctions evasions at sea, including ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other supplies banned by UNSC resolutions.
Emphasizing that the missions occur during operations to implement sanctions on North Korea approved by the United Nations, the Canadian military noted that such interactions are of increasing frequency and are raising serious concerns.
Arguing it has enforced the UNSC sanctions, Beijing, who has yet to comment on the allegations, joined Moscow last week in vetoing a proposal led by the United States for new sanctions on North Korea over its increasing missile tests.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during Wednesday’s briefing that ramping up sanctions won’t help solve the problem under current circumstances.
A joint aerial patrol was conducted last week over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, and the Western Pacific by China and Russia’s air forces, the first such exercise since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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