Chinese jets 'buzzed' Canadian aircraft, risking mid-air collision
Beijing (China), June 5: Chinese military jets have been flying extremely close to the Canadian aircraft, risking a mid-air collision and showing an "unsafe and unprofessional conduct" of the Chinese pilots, the sources in the Canadian government and military said, as per reports.
The Canadian maritime patrol aircraft CP-140 Aurora is currently participating in UN Operation NEON to monitor sanctions against North Korea. Chinese fighter jets repeatedly "buzzed" a Canadian aircraft on a UN mission in East Asia, with over two dozen intercepts deemed risky, Radio Free Asia said quoting Canada's local media outlet.
According to a Wednesday report in Canada's Global News, "Buzzing" means flying extremely close and fast. On these occasions, the Chinese jets flew as close as 20 to 100 feet (six to 30 meters) to the Canadian plane.
Moreover, the Canadian government and military sources have also said that the Canadian government filed "multiple" diplomatic complaints with Beijing regarding this matter.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Department of National Defence has termed this situation as "of concern and of increasing frequency".
According to the report, there have been approximately 60 such incidents since December. The planes got so close to the Canadian pilots that they could establish eye contact, risking a mid-air crash, according to the report.
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However, Chinese analysts dismissed Canada's complaints of Chinese aircraft "buzzing" their jets. According to Chinese sources and analysts, Canadian jets were responsible for provocative close-in recon missions on China.
Notably, relations between Canada and China have been strained since Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive at the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, at the request of the US in 2018. In response, China arrested two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.
After Meng was allowed to return to China, the two Canadians were released last September. Relations between the two countries deteriorated further last month when Canada banned Huawei and another Chinese telecom giant, ZTE, from participating in the building of its 5G network.
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-PTC News
