Chinese Defense Ministry Warns Against Canadian Aircraft’s Provocative Actions in the South China Sea

China’s National Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang responded on Saturday to Canada’s recent claims of “unsafe interceptions” by Chinese military jets, saying that Canadian helicopter’s approaches to Chinese airspace in the South China Sea were malicious and provocative acts with ulterior motives.

On November 3rd, Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair accused Chinese fighter jets of circling over ‘international waters’ in the South China Sea on October 29th, and launching flares over a Canadian helicopter, stating that ‘these incidents put Canadian aircrew at risk’.

Spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang clarified that two unidentified Canadian helicopters from the frigate “Ottawa” repeatedly approached Chinese airspace over the Xisha Islands. The People’s Liberation Army took appropriate measures to identify and warn the aircraft, but the Canadian helicopters not only failed to respond, they also engaged in provocative actions such as flying at extremely low altitudes. Subsequently, the Canadian side sensationalized and misrepresented the incident through the media, baselessly accusing and tarnishing China. Such actions by Canada violate both Chinese domestic law and relevant international law, endangering China’s sovereignty and security, representing a deliberate act of malicious provocation.

This is the second time within two weeks that Canada has publicly sensationalized what they refer to as “dangerous intercepts” by Chinese military aircrafts. On October 14th, a CP-140 aircraft from Canada illegally entered China’s territorial airspace near the Diaoyu Islands, seriously infringing upon Chinese sovereignty and posing a threat to China’s national security.