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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused China of harassing Canadian military jets in the skies over Asia, calling the situation “extremely worrying” as he vowed to raise the issue with Beijing.
Canadian military planes are in the region as part of a United Nations-backed military patrol to monitor sanctions imposed on North Korea.
On “multiple occasions” between April 26 and May 26, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aircraft came into close interaction with China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), Canada’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In these interactions, PLAAF aircraft did not adhere to international flight safety standards. These interactions are unprofessional and/or jeopardize the safety of our RCAF personnel,” the statement said.
“In some instances, the RCAF crew felt sufficiently endangered that they had to quickly alter their own flight path to increase separation and avoid a possible collision with the intercepting aircraft.”
China, which is in the middle of a national holiday, has yet to comment publicly on the events.
Trudeau told reporters Thursday that he “takes this situation very seriously.”
“Canada is an active part of an important mission in the North Pacific to ensure sanctions imposed on North Korea are properly enforced, and the fact that China would have chosen to do so is extremely worrying,” he said at an event in Alberta.
“We will be raising it directly with Chinese officials and colleagues and making sure this does not continue to be part of an escalating pattern.”
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Canada said the pilots of China’s planes were “very visible” as they attempted to divert Canada’s jets from their trajectory in international airspace.
The mission is part of a UN effort to monitor sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to the state’s nuclear weapons tests and ballistic missile launches. The Canadian CP-140 Aurora aircraft is based in Japan along with the crew as part of the mission.
Such aerial interactions, sometimes referred to as “hums,” are “worrying and growing in frequency,” Canada’s Ministry of Defense said, adding that the incidents were “addressed through diplomatic channels.”
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Last week, Russia and China flew strategic bombers over the Sea of Japan (also known as the East Sea) and the East China Sea while President Biden was in Tokyo to complete his first trip to Asia. It was their first joint military exercise since Russia invaded Ukraine. However, some experts have said that the borderless diplomatic ties that have been reaffirmed between the two countries in recent months are already being put to the test. with trade tensions and how much geopolitical support China is willing to give to Russia amid the war.
Relations between Ottawa and Beijing fractured after Canada arrested Huawei Technologies top executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 at the request of US authorities for bank and wire fraud. Shortly after their arrest, Beijing jailed two Canadians in China — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — as part of what Western officials called “hostage diplomacy.” All three people were released last year and returned to their home countries.
Amanda Coletta contributed to this report.