Interception of Canadian military plane by Chinese jets was unacceptable: Canada’s defence minister

Name: China excludes Canada as it lift travel bans, blaming country’s rising anti-China acts
Uploaded: 2023-10-16T21:48:27.000Z
Duration: 2 min
Description: China excludes Canada as it lift travel bans, blaming country’s rising anti-China acts

It was reported a Chinese jet had come within 16ft (5 metres) of a Canadian surveillance plane taking part in a UN operation to enforce North Korea sanctions

‘It was quite frankly dangerous and reckless,’ Bill Blair, Canadian defence minister, said. ‘Those types of behaviours are not ever acceptable’

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Bill Blair, Canada’s defence minister. Photo: EPA-EFE

Reuters

Published: 5:48am, 17 Oct 2023Updated: 6:05am, 17 Oct 2023

The interception of a Canadian military plane by Chinese fighter jets over international waters on Monday was unacceptable, dangerous and reckless, said Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair.

Blair spoke after Canada’s Global News said a Chinese jet had come within five metres (16ft) of a Canadian surveillance plane taking part in a UN operation to enforce sanctions against North Korea.

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China excludes Canada as it lift travel bans, blaming country’s rising anti-China acts

The incident took place in international waters off the coast of China, said Global, which had a crew on the plane.

Blair said that while the Chinese air force regularly interacted with planes on UN missions, the incident on Monday had put the Canadian aircraft at significant risk.

“I am very concerned about the unprofessional way in which this was done,” Blair said.

“It was quite frankly dangerous and reckless. And those types of behaviours are not ever acceptable and we will express that to the People’s Republic of China in the most appropriate way,” he continued, but did not give details.