Key Points
- A Chinese fighter jet released flares within 30 metres of an Australian surveillance aircraft in the South China Sea.
- The Defence Department has confirmed no personnel on the maritime surveillance aircraft were injured.
- Defence has said it “expects all countries, including to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner”.
A Chinese fighter jet released flares within 30 metres of an Australian surveillance aircraft in the South China Sea, in what Canberra has labelled an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction”.
In response, China has made solemn representations to Australia over what it said was an Australian military plane’s “deliberate intrusion” into China’s airspace, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Australia “jeopardised” China’s national security, and the Chinese side took “proper, legal and professional measures to exercise restraint,” ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a press conference.
The daytime incident occurred on Tuesday during a routine maritime surveillance patrol.
The Department of Defence has confirmed no personnel were injured, with roughly a dozen on board the RAAF P-8 Poseidon — a maritime surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.
Defence Minister Richard Marles told Sky News on Thursday afternoon that the manoeuvre was dangerous given the proximity to the Australian aircraft.
“What’s important to understand is that the proximity of the Chinese Air Force plane was so close that there’s no way you could have maintained control over those flares,” he said.
“There was a real risk that those flares could have hit our P-8 plane, and had they done so, that would have given rise to significant damage.”
Marles said the issue has been raised in Beijing, and with Chinese officials in Canberra.
Defence said in a statement it “expects all countries, including to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner”.
SBS News has contacted China’s embassy in Canberra for comment.
People’s Liberation Army-Navy frigate Hengyang passed through the Torres Strait on 10 February. Source: Supplied
In an unrelated incident, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has also been monitoring three Chinese warships operating north-east of Australia since early February.
One of the vessels, the Hengyang frigate, travelled through the Prince of Wales shipping channel in the Torres Strait on Tuesday.
It is a narrow channel, with the nearest point of Australian land being the tip of Cape York Peninsula in northeast of Queensland.
All three vessels are understood to be operating entirely within the remit of international law.
However, the ADF continues to monitor the vessels, given their proximity to Australian territory.
– With additional reporting from Reuters