The Canadian military has accused Chinese warplanes of being exposed to its patrol aircraft while monitoring sanctions evasion against North Korea, sometimes forcing Canadian aircraft to derail.
The Canadian Armed Forces said in a statement Wednesday that Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force aircraft approached several times between April 26 and May 26 from the Canadian Air Force's CB-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft.
"Pla aircraft have not complied with international air safety standards. These frictions are unfeatured and endanger the safety of ROYAL Canadian Air Force personnel."
In some cases, the Canadian air crew felt so dangerous that the flight had to be quickly rerouted to avoid a possible collision with the aircraft blocking the route, the statement continued.
Beijing has not yet commented on the accusations.
These Canadian aircraft were part of Ottawa's Operation Neon, which included the deployment of ships, military aircraft and soldiers to monitor suspected operations to evade sanctions at sea, such as the transportation of fuel and other supplies prohibited by United Nations Security Council resolutions from ship to ship.