BEIJING – Several combat planes China aggressively intercepted the Canadian Armed Forces Aurora aircraft on Monday (10/16/2023) over international waters off the coast of China.
“They became very aggressive and to some extent we considered that to be dangerous and unprofessional,” said a Canadian military official, Maj. Gen. Iain Huddleston. Global News Tuesday (10/17/2023).
Journalist Global News was aboard a Canadian military aircraft to report on the mission, which was part of Operation NEON Canada’s contribution to enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea when the aggressive interception is produced.
“This is a completely unexpected and unnecessary increase in aggressiveness in the context of the missions we are undertaking,” Mr Huddleston said.
At least two different Chinese fighter jets intercepted the Canadian plane consistently for several hours during the more than eight-hour mission. The Chinese fighter plane came within approximately five meters of the Canadian plane.
Most of the interceptions were carried out in a matter that members of the Canadian Air Force (CAF) told Global News they considered professional. But the final jet, armed with air-to-air missiles, flew aggressively back and forth over short distances while appearing to place the Canadian plane in a blind spot, according to the military description and a description of the flight by the Global News crew.
“I’m concerned when they do this. There is an increased risk of this type of interaction and we want to avoid it as much as possible. We record these things all the way down the chain with the evidence we collect and then allow “It’s up to our diplomatic institutions to intervene,” Huddleston said.
The Chinese fighter jet also fired several fireworks-like flares near the Canadian plane. This aggressive interception occurred shortly after the Canadian aircrew lost contact with their base due to an equipment communications error.
“In the first flare incident, the fighter fired two flares from our wings. So it wasn’t too concerning because the fighter was stable, it was moving away from us. But then the pilot reported that the The plane had fired flares near the front of the plane so it was much more “worrisome in terms of escalation, it’s a very dangerous act,” Huddleston said.
The 13 crew members of the Canadian mission were tasked with helping stop illegal oil shipments to North Korea. During this mission, a senior CAF official said the crew identified a listed “vessel of interest.”
“We are here to implement the UN resolutions. We are not here to take action against China. We do not want anything untoward to happen that could result in loss of life,” Huddleston said .
Huddleston said the reason for the Chinese fighter jet’s aggressive activity was unknown and that the Canadian crew remained over international waters, informing the Chinese pilot by radio of their identity and what they were was doing.
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