Canadian Warship Buzzed by Fighter Jets off China’s Coast as Tensions Grow

"Relations between Ottawa and Beijing were soured by the arrest of a top Huawei executive in Canada last December. Tensions have recently spilled beyond diplomacy to trade, with China blocking all Canadian meat imports and an agricultural product.

A Canadian warship has been buzzed by Chinese fighter jets monitoring out its movements in the East China Sea off Shanghai, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute reports citing one of its fellows, Matthew Fisher.

HMCS Regina, a Halifax-class frigate, and support ship Asterix, were sailing from Vietnam through the disputed waters of the South China Sea, the Strait of Taiwan and the East China Sea.

“The formidable twin-tail Russian-built strike aircraft flew within 300 metres of the Canadian ship’s bow, screaming past about 300 metres above the water,” Fisher said.

He added that Chinese fighters and Canadian warships have never been that close to each other. Regina's captain, meanwhile, was quoted as saying that it wasn't a "dangerous scenario" but was still worth being paid close attention.

Both Canadian ships are in the region as part of Operation Neon, an initiative led by a cluster of Western nations, including the US, the UK, France and France, to enforce trade sanctions against Pyongyang.

In the days leading up to the incident, those aboard Regina had observed a dozen other Su-30 fighters flying several kilometres away from the vessel.

Fisher claimed the Canadians tracked China-flagged tankers origins that could be transporting fuel to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions that ban ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other commodities. Beijing has not commented on the allegations so far.

According to Fisher, someone aboard those tankers beamed green lasers at the pilots of Regina’s surveillance helicopter that flew some 80 kilometres off the Chinese coast, though no injuries were sustained as a result.

This echoes claims by American servicemen stationed at a military base in Djibouti, who accused Chinese personnel at a nearby military outpost of beaming ground-based lasers at American pilots. Beijing in response called the accusations groundless.

Canada has been taking part in so-called Freedom of Navigation Operations, along with the United States and its allies, which are aimed at defying Beijing’s extensive claims to the South China Sea.

These countries sail their warships past the Taiwan Strait, which separates mainland China and Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory but doesn’t control..."

at https://sputniknews.com/asia/201906291076095730-canadian-warship-buzzed-fighter-jets-off-chinese-coast/