A pilot assigned to an air force aviation brigade under the PLA Southern Theater Command gets ready for the real-combat flight training on May 11, 2022. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Li Zishao)

 
Reports claiming that the Chinese military aircraft "buzzed" Canadian military aircraft are not consistent with the truth: it was the Canadian warplanes that traveled all the way to the East China Sea and conducted close-in reconnaissance, thus provoking China, a source familiar with the matter told the Global Times on Sunday.

The Chinese aircraft dealt with the Canadian counterpart completely legitimately and within its rights, according to the source.

The source's remarks came after the Canadian Armed Forces on Wednesday accused aircraft of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force of repeatedly buzzing Canadian surveillance planes, which allegedly were there to "help enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea," CNN reported Wednesday.

Some Western militaries are often ready to point fingers, while being guilty in the first place, Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday.

They try to drag China's reputation through the mud, but do not mention anything about their own activities, or whether their activities were threatening China's security, Zhang said.