A screen grab of a video taken on May 26, 2023 and released by the US Indo-Pacific Command shows a Chinese fighter jet flying in front of a US Air Force surveillance plane over the South China Sea
Pictured: a screen grab of a video taken on May 26, 2023 and released by the US Indo-Pacific Command shows a Chinese fighter jet flying in front of a US Air Force surveillance plane over the South China Sea. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Ottawa had been provoking Beijing
  • At least two Chinese warplanes reportedly intercepted Canada's surveillance aircraft for "multiple hours" Monday
  • The Pentagon released video and photos of Chinese military jets intercepting U.S. planes

China accused a Canadian aircraft of illegally intruding into its territorial airspace a day after Ottawa called out Beijing for the "dangerous and reckless" interception of its military plane over the East China Sea on Monday.

"The illegal intrusion of a Canadian CP-140 aircraft into the airspace of Chiwei Yu (Taisho in Japan), an affiliated island of China's Diaoyu Yao (Senkaku Islands in Japan), on October 14 seriously violates China's sovereignty," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a press briefing Tuesday.

China and Japan are embroiled in a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands. Beijing claims the island group is part of Taiwan, which it has repeatedly claimed to be an "inalienable" part of China.

Mao said Canada "sent warplanes halfway around the world to stir up trouble and make provocations at China's doorsteps. The Chinese side responded to the situation in accordance with laws and regulations." She also called on Ottawa to "respect the facts and stop spreading disinformation."

Canadian military aircraft have "frequently" provoked Beijing in recent years "in the name of implementing UN Security Council resolutions", she added.

Beijing's stern message came a day after Global News reported that Chinese military warplanes intercepted a Canadian military aircraft in international airspace Monday.

"They became very aggressive and to a degree would deem it unsafe and unprofessional. It's a ramp-up of the aggressiveness that's really unexpected and unnecessary in the context of the mission that we're flying," Maj. Gen. Iain Huddleston, the commander of Canada's 1st Air Division, told the outlet.

At least two Chinese warplanes reportedly intercepted the surveillance aircraft for "multiple hours" and came "within about five meters (16 feet) of the Canadian plane."

"I am very concerned about the unprofessional way in which this was done. It was quite frankly dangerous and reckless. And those types of behaviors are not ever acceptable," said Canada's Defense Minister Bill Blair.

Following the tense exchange between the countries, the Pentagon released declassified images and footage that showed 15 "recent cases of coercive and risk operational behavior" by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) against U.S. aircraft operating in international airspace across the East and South China Sea regions.

The footage showed that four PLA aircraft intercepted a U.S. jet on April 29, 2022, and at one point, came at "a distance of just 75 feet" from it. In May 2022, a Chinese fighter jet sped toward another U.S. aircraft and approached at a distance of "just 15 feet laterally and 10 feet below" the plane.

The latest incident reportedly took place on Sept. 21, when a Chinese warplane came within just 50 feet of a "lawfully operating" U.S. jet in the South China Sea.

Relations between Canada and China hit a low point earlier this year, which led to tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions. Ottawa was first to expel a Chinese diplomat in May over alleged foreign interference. Beijing followed suit afterward.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that while it understands "there is retaliation," his country "will not be intimidated."

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