Still heady from their success in becoming a part of the “nuclear club” with the AUKUS agreement, the Australians, forgetting the unhappy experience of Gallipoli, are beginning to learn that “taking the point” for the Empire could carry a heavy cost. Patrolling closely off the Xisha Islands (Paracel Islands) which China has a claim to, the Australian reconnaissance plane ignored Beijing warnings to depart Chinese airspace. When they did not respond to the request, a Chinese fighter was sent up to “nudge” them out of that area. The Australian defense minister then complained on June 5 said that a PLA warplane intercepted the Australian aircraft and “imposed a safety threat.”
Similar complaints have been made by Canada, which is conducting similar reconnaissance missions off the Chinese coast. China replied that the actions of the Chinese pilots were totally “professional” and in accordance with their mission of defending the country. The Canadians claimed that they were conducting a mission to check to see if sanctions were being violated. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhang Lijian didn’t mince his words over Ottawa’s flimsy pretext, stating on June 8, “I would like to stress that the UN Security Council has never mandated any country to deploy forces and conduct surveillance operations in the sea and airspace under the jurisdiction of another country in the name of identifying sanctions evasion activities. The Canadian side claimed that its military aircraft was on a UN mission. But that is just a pretext used by the Canadian side. China firmly rejects all moves that harm China’s sovereignty and national security in the name of implementing UN resolutions. One clear fact is: It was the Canadian military aircraft that flew all the way up close to China’s airspace, conducted reconnaissance here and made provocations to the Chinese side, not the other way round. Who is posing a threat and being provocative? And who is acting in legitimate self-defense? The answer is crystal clear. The way the Chinese military handled the situation was legitimate, resolute, safe, professional and beyond reproach.”
