China issued a “stern warning” to the Dutch Navy on Tuesday, cautioning against “provocative” actions and urging restraint. Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a ministry spokesman, stated, “A helicopter from the Dutch navy’s Tromp frigate provocatively intruded east of Shanghai, and the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command responded with verbal warnings and scrambled fighter jets to forcibly drive it away.” China also criticized an earlier statement by the Netherlands alleging that Chinese military jets conducted “unsafe” manoeuvres in the East China Sea last week.
Last week, the Dutch defence ministry reported that two Chinese fighter jets circled above its frigate several times daily. The frigate, HNLMS Tromp of the Royal Netherlands Navy, was patrolling the area in support of a multinational UN coalition to ensure maritime sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council against North Korea. Two Chinese jets and a PLA helicopter then approached the ship’s NH90 maritime combat helicopter during patrol.
China’s defence ministry stated that the Dutch statement “distorted the facts” and asserted that the PLA’s actions were “completely legal and reasonable.” It’s worth noting that the East China Sea lies between China, Japan, and Taiwan, with the controversial Taiwan Strait connecting it to the East China Sea.