China intercepts Dutch Navy Combat Helicopter near Shanghai coastline

The Dutch military has created a dangerous situation in the East China Sea after using a UN mission as a cover-up, Chinese Ministry of Defense representative Zhang Xiaogang has said.

People’s Liberation Army fighter jets escorted a Dutch chopper that violated Chinese airspace under the auspice of a UN mission. Beijing warned the Netherlands to avoid such incidents in the future.

Beijing urges the Netherlands to limit any activities of their armed forces in the region and vowed decisive counter-measures in response to provocations near China’s territory.

The statement came in response to Amsterdam saying that one People’s Liberation Army helicopter and two fighter jets had approached a helicopter assigned to a Dutch frigate in the East China Sea.

The Dutch claimed that the incident happened in international airspace and that the vessel was overseeing the implementation of a UN Security Council resolution on North Korea sanctions.

Beijing debunked these claims, explaining that the helicopter assigned to the Tromp-class frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy entered its airspace east of Shanghai.

In the end, the command of the People’s Liberation Army had to use its fighter jets to expel the helicopter from the area after warning its crew.

Royal Netherlands Navy frigate, HNLMS Tromp, was approached and circled by two Chinese fighters and a helicopter creating an unsafe situation in the ECS (East China Sea) on June 7, 2024.

The ship’s maritime patrol helicopter (an NH90) too was approached by the Chinese aircraft. The encounters took place over international airspace, according to a statement by the Dutch MoD (Ministry of De fence).

For security reasons, two Chinese fighter jets circled the naval ship HNLMS Tromp several times. Additionally, the ship’s NH90 maritime combat helicopter was approached by two Chinese fighter jets and a Chinese helicopter during a patrol.

These steps were legal and purposeful, everything was done professionally and according to standards. It is the Netherlands not China who created the dangerous situation.

The Netherlands had used the UN mission as a pretext for power projection in regions that are under the jurisdiction of other countries.

Dutch statements and activities have a malevolent nature, we condemn them and we’ve sent a demarche, adding that China will take decisive countermeasures on any future violations or provocations.

Sputnik / ABC Flash Point News 2024.