Canadian military authorities have accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its pilots during United Nations sanctions patrols along the border with North Korea which was set up to monitor evasions.
Canadian Armed Forces claimed in a statement yesterday that the Chinese planes have at times flown so close they forced Canadian pilots to quickly change course to ‘avoid a potential collision with the intercepting aircraft’.
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‘In these interactions, PLAAF [People’s Liberation Army Air Force] aircraft did not adhere to international air safety norms,” the statement said. “These interactions are unprofessional and/or put the safety of our RCAF [Royal Canadian Air Force] personnel at risk.’
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The military went further to add that the interactions in international airspace during UN-sanctioned missions were becoming more frequent, adding that ‘these occurrences have also been addressed through diplomatic channels’.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the reports “extremely troubling” and said his government took the situation ‘very seriously’.
‘Canada is an active part of an important mission in the North Pacific to ensure that the sanctions applied to North Korea are properly enforced and the fact that China would have chosen to do this is extremely troubling,’ Trudeau said.
‘We will be bringing it up directly with Chinese officials and counterparts and ensuring that this doesn’t continue to be part of an escalatory pattern.’
Africa Daily News, New York reports that Beijing, Pyongyang’s biggest ally, did not immediately respond to the allegations, but has said it enforces sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council on North Korea.
Meanwhile, both China and Russia have called for the easing of sanctions against North Korea on humanitarian grounds.
