A report says two Chinese fighter jets buzzed a Canadian warship operating in international waters in the East China Sea.
The news comes at a time of heightened tension between Beijing and Ottawa.
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Canadian Global Affairs Institute fellow Matthew Fisher wrote in a column on the website of the think tank that the Su-30 fighters flew within 300 metres of the bow of the frigate HMCS Regina on Monday.
Fisher, who was aboard the ship, said that although the display was more aggressive than previous encounters between the Canadian Navy and Chinese warplanes, it was not considered dangerous.
He added in a tweet that Canadian naval ships were “shadowed” by Chinese vessels for roughly 4,000 miles as they sailed from Vietnam across the South China Sea, the Strait of Taiwan and into the East China Sea.
Canada’s Department of National Defence says the decision to have HMCS Regina transit the strait between mainland China and Taiwan was not intended to send a message to China.
It says for the Regina and the navy’s interim resupply ship, MV Asterix, the route was simply the most practical one.
China has taken issue in the past with foreign warships travelling in the strait.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now in Osaka, Japan for the G20 leaders’ summit, with this latest incident adding to the tension between Canada and China.
Trudeau is hoping for progress, or at least fresh support from other countries, in Canada’s disputes with China over agriculture products and the arrests of two Canadians.
It’s all in apparent retaliation for Canada’s detention of a Chinese high-tech executive on an extradition warrant from the United States.
Trudeau has no meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at the summit and is counting on U.S President Donald Trump to raise Canada’s issues.
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China was incensed by Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei, in December at the request of the U.S.
It has since arrested two Canadians for alleged spying and this week suspended imports of Canadian meat products.