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China accused of ‘regularly’ intercepting Canadian military aircraft

Intercepts happened on a number of occasions between September and November
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Members of the Canadian Forces work on a CP140 Aurora surveillance plane at the Canadian Forces base in the Persian Gulf, Sunday, February 19, 2017.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

China is being accused of having “regularly” intercepted a Canadian military aircraft tasked with enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea.

The Department of National Defence says the intercepts happened on a number of occasions between September and November.

They involved a Canadian CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft flying out of Okinawa, Japan.

Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier did not provide further details, such as the number of incidents.

However, in a speech in Halifax earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described the Chinese military’s activities as “dangerous.”

Austin also said the number of intercepts of U.S., Canadian and other allied aircraft was increasing over the South and East China Seas.

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