Western Flights Monitoring North Korean Sanctions Worry China Over National Security And Sovereignty

On a recent patrol over the East China Sea, a Canadian military plane was warned by a Chinese official to steer clear of Pengjia, an islet controlled by Taiwan but claimed by Beijing. 

The flight’s U.S. crew commander disclosed to the Financial Times that they were 35 to 40 miles away from the islet.

The Aurora CP-140 long-range surveillance aircraft’s mission is to identify and disrupt tankers shipping illegal oil and petroleum products to North Korea, often originating from Taiwan and China, in defiance of U.N. sanctions. This operation, contributing to a U.S.-led intelligence alliance, has drawn Beijing’s ire as it suspects the West of utilizing the North Korean sanctions violations as a pretext for expanding its military presence in the area.

According to Cao Yanzhong, a research fellow at the People’s Liberation Army’s Academy of Military Sciences, the mission is seen as “provocative behavior” rather than “innocent passage.” Beijing’s surveillance against these flights is deemed a natural and necessary response to protect their national security and sovereignty.

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Despite the growing opposition and aggressive maneuvers from China, the Canadian aircraft persists in its mission to enforce the sanctions regime. However, the geopolitical tension this has generated between China and the West cannot be ignored.

Capping off the situation, Maj-Gen Iain Huddleston, commander of Canada’s 1st Air Division, condemned China’s tactics as “unnecessary and unsafe”. He emphasized Aurora’s mission in assisting the enforcement of the U.N. resolution and questioned China’s attempts to undermine it, despite being a signatory to the resolution.

The Aurora’s findings are sent to the Enforcement Coordination Cell, which includes the Five Eyes allies, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and Italy. In an interview with the Financial Times, U.S. Navy Capt. Jennifer Kidd, who oversees the ECC, accused Beijing of allowing ships involved in North Korea’s illicit oil trade to operate with “impunity” along the border of China’s maritime contiguous zone.

In response to the escalating situation, China’s foreign ministry stated that the U.N. resolutions did not authorize the deployment of military forces or surveillance under the pretext of monitoring violations. The ministry called on the U.S. and its allies to cease any adventurous and provocative actions near China’s coast.

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Flag of People’s Republic of China. Photo by Andrey Vandyshev on Shutterstock.