Canada Accuses Chinese Fighter Jet of Dangerously Close Air Intercept

A Chinese fighter jet was recorded performing aggressive maneuvers while intercepting a Canadian maritime patrol aircraft in international airspace Monday, including shooting off flares and flying within 20 feet of the larger plane.

The plane's crew was conducting a reconnaissance mission as part of Canada's Operation Neon to enforce United Nations-mandated restrictions on oil shipments to North Korea in response to that country's nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile tests.

At least two Chinese planes approached the Canadian aircraft over the next few hours, some coming within 20 feet of it, according to Canada's Global News, which recorded video of the incident. One pilot then began flying erratically back and forth, positioning the Canadian plane in its blind spot.

The Chinese pilot reportedly proceeded to fire flares—including, unsafely, near the front of the plane.

In the video, a member of the crew can be heard pointing out that the fighter was as few as 10-20 feet off the plane's left wing, calling it an "abnormal and unusual intercept."

"It's a ramp-up of the aggressiveness that's really unexpected and unnecessary in the context of the mission that we're flying," Major General Iain Huddleston, who was onboard, said.

Asked about the incident at a regular press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said that on Saturday, a Canadian reconnaissance plane had illegally intruded into Chinese airspace around the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China.

The Canadian aircraft had traveled thousands of miles to cause trouble on China's doorstep, and China had dealt with it according to the law, she said, adding that Canada should stop spreading disinformation.

Monday's intercept fits the pattern in recent years of Chinese pilots and ship crews startling planes and vessels belonging to the United States and its allies with reckless and sometimes dangerous maneuvers.

In May, a Chinese fighter pilot flew in front of the nose of an American reconnaissance plane, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. In August, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocked and reportedly fired a water cannon at its Philippine counterpart, which was on a routine supply in the international waters of the South China Sea.

In February 2022, a Chinese naval vessel flashed an Australian reconnaissance aircraft with a laser while reportedly within Australia's own exclusive economic zone.

China, which has overlapping claims with several neighboring countries, frequently accuses them of trespassing in its waters. U.S. allies have responded to these more aggressive episodes by recording them—either directly as did the crew of the Philippine Coast Guard vessel or by allowing news crews onboard like Monday's Canadian patrol.

"The People's Republic of China continues to conduct an alarming number of risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore in June.

Austin has called on China's defense officials to keep lines of communication to avoid any misunderstandings. The Defense Department voiced concern after their Chinese counterparts ignored attempts to contact them after the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon in February.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Canada and Canada's Department of National Defense for comment.