Video shows Chinese jet intercepting Canadian military aircraft, not US plane

"A Chinese PLA Air Force fighter jet is repelling a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft," read an English-language post on social media site X using the acronym for China's military.

"The two planes are only 3 meters apart," the July 14, 2024 post added.

It included a video -- featuring almost identical English and Chinese subtitles -- filmed from inside a plane of another aircraft flying very close by.

A man and a woman inside the first plane describe what they are witnessing. 

The woman can be heard asking, "Are we okay?" To which the man responds, "This is an abnormal and unusual intercept". 

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Screenshot of the false X post, captured on July 18, 2024

The post has been reshared more than 500 times. Similar posts were also shared by social media users from China, the Philippines and Indonesia, and in multiple languages including Spanish and Arabic.

The United States has been strengthening defence ties in Asia to counter China's growing military might and influence. Chinese officials have accused it of trying to create an Asia-Pacific version of NATO.

The US military has previously criticised what it said were "unprofessional" intercepts by Chinese fighter pilots in May and October 2023 however the circulating video does not depict an incident involving a US aircraft (archived links here and here).

It shows a Chinese aircraft trying to intercept a Canadian fighter jet in international waters off the coast of China.

Canada-China standoff

A reverse image search of a keyframe from the video, followed by keyword searches found the original video published on YouTube on October 17, 2023 by Global News, a Canadian media outlet (archived link).

Its caption read: "A Chinese military jet intercepted a Canadian Armed Forces Aurora aircraft in an 'aggressive manner' on Monday in international waters off the coast of China."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false X post (left) and the Global News' video (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the video shared in false X posts (left) and the Global News' video (right)

Global News's report indicated that its journalist Neetu Garcha was on board the Canadian aircraft.

Another video released by Global News on October 16, 2023 shows scenes from inside the aircraft with an officer -- Canadian Armed Forces' Major-General Iain Huddleston -- wearing a uniform where the logo of Pilot of the Canadian Armed Forces was stitched (archived links here and here).

Below is a screenshot of the frame from the video:

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Screenshot of Global News' video clip released on October 16, 2024

A television crew from CBC/Radio-Canada also documented and reported the incident on board the plane and released video clips taken from other angles on October 16, 2023 (archived link).

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Screenshot of the Chinese aircraft showing in Radio Canada's video released on October 16, 2023

Chinese planes shadowed Ottawa's Aurora aircraft -- on a mission to enforce United Nations sanctions against North Korea -- over several hours in international waters, AFP reported at the time, quoting the Canadian television crew on the flight.

One came within five metres (15 feet) of the Canadian plane in a move Ottawa's Defence Minister Bill Blair called "unprofessional".

But Beijing hit back, accusing the plane of having "illegally intruded into the airspace" of Chiwei island, which lies in the Japan-administered Senkakus claimed by China.

AFP has previously debunked misinformation about US-China relations.