Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian takes a question at the daily media briefing in Beijing on April 8, 2020. (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Beijing has responded to Ottawa’s concerns about Chinese fighter jets harassing a Canadian surveillance plane in East Asia by warning it of potential “severe consequences” for any “risky provocation.”
“The U.N. Security Council has never authorized any country to carry out military surveillance in the seas and airspace of other countries in the name of enforcing sanctions,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a media briefing on Monday.
Canada and other countries in a U.S.-led effort are monitoring the observance of sanctions imposed on North Korea by the U.N. Security Security Council between 2006 and 2017 for its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missiles tests.
Aerial and maritime surveillance is being used in part to detect ship-to-ship oil transfers employed by Pyongyang to circumvent the yearly importation cap of 4 million barrels of crude oil and 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products.
China is North Korea’s main benefactor, but the sanctions would not have been adopted without its approval, given its veto power on the council.
On May 26, China and Russia used their veto to defeat a U.S.-sponsored U.N. resolution seeking to reduce the amount of oil North Korea can import, due to its 23 ballistic missile launches this year.
Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) revealed last week its CP-140 Aurora Maritime Patrol Aircraft assigned to sanctions-monitoring from April 26 to May 26 had several interactions with Chinese fighter jets over what it says was international airspace.
In some cases, the Canadian aircrews had to modify their flight paths to avoid a potential collision with the Chinese jets, DND said.
The Chinese defence ministry said in a statement that the aerial reconnaissance conducted by Canada was being used against China “under the pretext” of supporting a U.N. resolution, which it says amounts to “provocations.”
China experts commented on the issue to The Epoch Times while participating in the University of Ottawa Challenge of China conference on June 3.
Former Canadian ambassador to Beijing Guy St-Jacques called the Chinese military’s action “reckless.”
“It just shows how China has become aggressive, provocative, and this is dangerous,” he told The Epoch Times.
St-Jacques said it’s not the first time the Chinese military has been aggressive toward foreign ships or planes.
More recently and in line with what the Canadian aircrews experienced, the Australian Department of Defence said on June 5 that one of its surveillance planes had been harassed by a Chinese jet on May 26.
The incident occurred in international airspace over the South China Sea region, stated the department.
A Chinese J-16 fighter jet intercepted an Australian P8-A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, which “resulted in a dangerous manoeuvre which posed a safety threat to the P-8 aircraft and its crew.”
Scott Simon, University of Ottawa professor and co-holder of the Chair of Taiwan Studies, says these incidents must be viewed in the broader context of China being “increasingly aggressive beyond its own borders.”
“There’s a broad pattern of aggression that goes everywhere from the Himalayas, where they have border incursions with India, but also building villages inside Bhutan and Nepal. It’s very serious,” he said.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, senior fellow at the University of Ottawa Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, said Chinese pilots did not come up with the idea to harass the Canadian aircraft.
“This is an idea of someone much more senior. If you look at [the] top-down control [of] the country, it really must be from [leader] Xi [Jinping] and his colleagues, that this is the direction of what they’re to do.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the harassment by Chinese fighter aircraft “extremely troubling” last week and said the issue would be addressed with Chinese officials to prevent an “escalatory pattern.” On Monday, he again said the actions were “irresponsible and provocative.”
Donna Ho and Reuters contributed to this report.