OTTAWA –
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the actions of Chinese pilots against Canadian planes participating in a UN mission “irresponsible and provocative.”
Speaking at a news conference Monday, Trudeau condemned China’s actions against Canadian planes involved in a multilateral UN mission to the Pacific to impose sanctions on North Korea.
“China’s actions are irresponsible and provocative, and we will continue to make it clear that they are putting people at risk, while not respecting UN decisions,” he said.
Last week, the Canadian military repeatedly accused Chinese planes of violating international safety standards and putting Canadian crews at risk. A statement said Chinese planes had tried to divert a Canadian long-range patrol plane and that the crew had to change direction quickly to avoid a potential collision.
“Such interactions are a cause for concern and are becoming more frequent,” the statement said.
The Canadian plane was deployed from April 26th to May 26th to join other countries in monitoring the transfer of fuel between ships at sea, which could help North Korea evade UN sanctions over its missile and nuclear tests. Chinese ships are suspected of involvement in the transfers. The United States and Japan also participated in the monitoring.
China defended its military pilots on Monday, saying they had done the right thing and defended its sovereignty, following recent complaints from Canada and Australia that Chinese planes had taken risky maneuvers with their planes over the Pacific.
Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qiang said China “quickly took sensible, strong and professional measures in response to Canada’s provocative actions and unfriendly and unprofessional operations.”
Wu said in a statement that Canada had stepped up China’s vigilant intelligence under the pretext of imposing UN sanctions. He said Canada would be responsible for any serious consequences of what he called its risky and provocative actions.
Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Michael Chong said Canada should tell China that its actions were “unacceptable” and also “dangerous and reckless.”
“The Chinese hum of a Canadian airliner over international waters is reckless and unprofessional,” Chong said.
A 2001 clash between a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese Air Force plane killed the Chinese pilot and detained the US crew from China for 10 days.
In a separate incident, newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on a visit to Indonesia on Monday, called the actions of a Chinese fighter jet on May 26 a dangerous act of aggression against an Australian Air Force air surveillance aircraft in the South China Sea. .
The Chinese J-16 accelerated and cut in front of the Australian plane, dropping chaff with small pieces of aluminum that was sucked into the latter’s engine, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.
China’s Defense Ministry has not commented on the incident.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijiang said the Chinese military always conducts operations based on international law and practice and in a safe and professional manner.
“We call on Australia to respect China’s national security interests and fundamental concerns and to be cautious in its words and actions to avoid miscalculations that could have serious consequences,” he said.
China claims many small islands and reefs in the South China Sea and says the area around these protrusions is its territorial waters and airspace. Water is an important transportation route for all countries in the region, including Australia, which, along with the United States, says it wants to guarantee freedom of navigation through it.
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 files from the Associated Press
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