East China Sea — Over the deep blue waters of the East China Sea, a Canadian navy plane surveys the huge expanse under. The CP-140 Aurora, a maritime patrol plane operated by the Royal Canadian Air Power, is designed primarily to hunt enemy submarines — however this crew is on a unique mission: monitoring North Korean vessels engaged in illicit commerce that violates United Nations sanctions.
“There are positively some boats that look extra suspicious than others,” the captain at present deployed on the operation tells CBS Information as he pilots the airplane. The Canadian air drive requested CBS Information to not use the captain’s identify as he’s nonetheless on energetic obligation.
Working in worldwide airspace over worldwide waters, the mission — often known as Operation NEON — takes the airplane near Chinese language territory, typically triggering a dramatic response by Beijing, which intercepts the Aurora on a number of events throughout its mission whereas a CBS Information crew is onboard.
Operation NEON is Canada’s contribution to a coordinated multinational effort to help the implementation of U.N. Safety Council sanctions towards North Korea, as U.N. member states search to use stress on Pyongyang to desert its packages creating weapons of mass destruction.
NEON is an intelligence gathering mission — they take images, video and log suspicious vessels within the East China Sea, after which share the knowledge with the United Nations’ Enforcement Coordination Cell.
The mission relies out of Kadena Air Base in Japan — the most important U.S. Air Power base within the Asia-Pacific area — often known as the “keystone of the Pacific” as a result of its strategic significance.
In the course of the mission, a Chinese language supersonic fighter jet seems and approaches the Canadian air drive airplane.
Sad with the Canadian presence, the Chinese language pilot hails Aurora’s captain, who calmly responds: “I am a Canadian plane working in worldwide airspace, finishing up the duties of all nations.”
CBS Information 
There isn’t any verbal reply from the Chinese language, however the Chinese language fighter jet shadows the Aurora for one more half-hour or so.
“So long as issues stay skilled and protected, this mission continues unabated,” Brigadier Basic Jeff Davis, who instructions the Canadian operation, tells CBS Information.
Quickly after, the Chinese language fighter jet disappears, nevertheless it’s solely a brief halt to the Chinese language actions. A couple of hours later, one other jet seems, this one carrying missiles. All crew members transfer into place to doc the second intercept.
The jet, flying simply 4 wing lengths’ away — lower than 200 toes — comes nearer than any Chinese language fighter has come to the Aurora all through its mission.
China has been North Korea’s financial lifeline since worldwide sanctions have been imposed on Pyongyang in 2006, after its first nuclear take a look at.
However the sanctions clearly haven’t had the specified impact. Russia and China was once against North Korea’s nuclear growth, however not any more.
Sergei Bobylev/AP 
China has been an important economic lifeline for the Kim regime in Pyongyang, propping up North Korea’s economic system. Extra just lately, Russia has additionally performed a giant function, giving the North oil in trade for ammunition and troops deployed in help of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Kim dynasty has lengthy hoped to drive the world to just accept North Korea as a nuclear energy. It is at present estimated to own roughly 50 nuclear weapons, and is on the verge of creating a long-range missile able to delivering a nuclear warhead to the U.S. mainland.
Close to the tip of August, whereas assembly South Korea’s new president, President Trump mentioned he needed another meeting with Kim Jong Un. They met thrice throughout Mr. Trump’s first time period, however the summits garnered no outcomes towards denuclearizing North Korea.
Kim has mentioned since that he is open to persevering with the dialogue provided that Mr. Trump abandons his authorities’s “absurd obsession with denuclearization.”
Whereas these Chinese language intercepts of the worldwide sanctions enforcement mission over the East China Sea are anticipated, they undeniably enhance the dangers for the Canadian crew.
“It may possibly add some stressors,” the Canadian pilot tells CBS Information. “Typically they’re making an attempt to maneuver, however we attempt to mitigate as finest we are able to and hold the plane protected.”
After 9 hours of intelligence gathering, the Aurora lastly heads again to base — mission full, beneath essentially the most making an attempt of circumstances.
