Canadian warship gets "warm welcome" from Chinese fighter jets

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two Chinese fighter jets buzzed a Canadian warship in the East China Sea earlier this week in what Chinese media called a "warm welcome," CNN reports.

The incident between the frigate HMCS Regina and two Chinese Su-30 fighters took place Monday, June 24 while the ship was in international waters off Shanghai, according to Matthew Fisher, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

"The formidable twin-tail Russian-built strike aircraft flew within 300 meters (1,000 feet) of the Canadian ship's bow, screaming past about 300 meters above the water," Fisher wrote in a posting on the institute's website.

The Regina's captain told Fisher the Chinese jets didn't pose a danger to his ship, but Fisher's report said their flight was more aggressive than anything the (Canadian Navy) has seen before from Chinese fighter jets.

Chinese aircraft and ships had been watching the Canadian warship, and an accompanying replenishment ship, closely after it ended a visit to Vietnam and traveled through the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait and East China Sea, Fisher reported.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang on Thursday acknowledged the presence of the Canadian ships.

"We were clear about the transit of Canadian vessels through the Taiwan Strait and monitored the vessels for the whole process," Ren said.

However, the Chinese state-owned Global Times newspaper put out a post on its official Weibo account Thursday, seemingly mocking the encounter: "The Canadian ships have received a warm welcome from our people's navy and air force," said the post.