Over the deep blue waters of the East China Sea, a Canadian military aircraft surveys the vast expanse below. The CP-140 Aurora, a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force, is designed primarily to hunt enemy submarines — but this crew is on a different mission: tracking North Korean vessels engaged in illicit trade that violates United Nations sanctions. “There are definitely some boats that look more suspicious than others,” the captain currently deployed on the operation tells CBS News as he pilots the plane. The Canadian air force asked CBS News not to use the captain’s name as he is still on active duty. Operating in international airspace over international waters, the mission — known as Operation NEON — takes the plane close to Chinese territory, often triggering a dramatic response by Beijing, which intercepts the Aurora on multiple occasions during its mission while a CBS News crew is onboard.

Full report : CBS News on board as Chinese jets intercept Canadian air force plane tracking North Korean ships.