China defended its military pilots on Monday, saying they were doing the right thing and protecting its sovereignty, following recent complaints from Canada and Australia that Chinese planes were conducting dangerous maneuvers in the Pacific.
Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said China promptly take reasonable, authoritative and professional action in response to hostile and unprofessional acts of incitement and operation by Canada.
Last week, the Canadian military accused Chinese planes of repeatedly failing to meet international safety standards and putting a Canadian crew at risk.
A statement on June 1 said Chinese planes had attempted to divert a Canadian long-range patrol plane from the path and crews needed to quickly change direction to avoid a potential collision.
Such interactions […] is worried and becomes frequentsaid the statement.
The Canadian aircraft was deployed from April 26 to May 26 to join other countries in monitoring ship-to-ship fuel transfers at sea that could help North Korea evade U.S. sanctions.UN for its missile and nuclear test.
Chinese vessels are suspected of participating in the transfers. The United States and Japan also participated in the surveillance.
Wu said in a statement that Canada has bolstered China’s close reconnaissance under the pretext of enforcing sanctions on Iran.UN. He said Canada was responsible for all the serious consequences of what he called his dangerous and provocative actions.
The 2001 collision between a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese air force plane resulted in the death of the Chinese pilot and the detention of China’s U.S. crew for 10 days.
Canberra also criticized Chinese aviation
In a separate incident, Australia’s newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited Indonesia on Monday, called the May 26 actions of a Chinese fighter jet a dangerous act of aggression against a plane US military. The Australian Air Force conducts aerial surveillance in the South China sea.
The Chinese J-16 accelerated and overtook the Australian plane, releasing small pieces of aluminum that were sucked into the engine of the latter, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense did not comment on the incident.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China’s military always conducts operations based on international law and practice and in a safe and professional manner.
” We urge Australia to respect China’s national security interests and fundamental concerns, and to be careful in its words and deeds to avoid a miscalculation that could have serious consequences. “
China claims many small islands and reefs in the South China Sea and says the area around these outcrops is its territorial waters and airspace.
Water is an important navigation route for all countries in the region, including Australia which, along with the United States, says it wants to guarantee freedom of navigation through this sector.
Zhao said China would not allow any country to violate its sovereignty in the name of freedom of navigation.
He also accused Canada of spreading misinformation and said it should adopt a moderate and pragmatic policy towards China and take concrete steps to improve relations between the two countries.
Associated Press
Source: Radio-Canada
