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Chinese warplanes buzzed a Canadian helicopter over international waters in the South China Sea last weekend and then fired flares at it, Defence Minister Bill Blair said on Friday, saying the incidents had put the crew in danger.
His comments marked the second time in two weeks that Canada has accused China’s air force of unsafe behaviour.
In mid-October, Blair said a Chinese aircraft had come within five metres (16 feet) of a surveillance plane taking part in a UN operation to enforce sanctions against North Korea.
Blair said a Chinese plane had initially flown right over the Canadian Cyclone helicopter on Sunday, causing it to experience significant turbulence.
Later that day another plane launched flares directly in front of the helicopter, forcing it to swerve to avoid being hit.
“These manoeuvres put the safety of all personnel involved in unnecessary risk,” he told reporters, saying Ottawa considered the recent actions by Chinese aircraft to be “significantly unsafe”.
The helicopter and HMCS Ottawa were in the South China Sea as part of US and allied “freedom of navigation” crossings to reinforce the status of the body as an international waterway.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa was not immediately available for comment.
Over 180 ‘coercive and risky’ PLA incidents against US since 2021: Pentagon
Over 180 ‘coercive and risky’ PLA incidents against US since 2021: Pentagon
In the wake of the mid-October incident, Beijing said the Canadian plane had violated China’s sovereignty.
In May, the Pentagon said a Chinese fighter aircraft carried out an “unnecessarily aggressive” manoeuvre near a US military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace.
The encounter followed what Washington calls a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behaviour by Chinese military aircraft.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
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