SYDNEY – Australia rebuked Beijing on Thursday for “unsafe” military conduct, accusing a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares near an Australian air force plane patrolling the South China Sea.
The Australian plane was flying a “routine” surveillance patrol over the contested waters on February 11 when a Chinese fighter jet approached, the defense department said.
The Shenyang J-16 strike jet “released flares in close proximity” to the Australian Poseidon surveillance plane, the department said.
But Beijing accused an Australian military plane of “violating Chinese sovereignty” after Canberra said a Chinese fighter jet had dropped flares near its aircraft as it patrolled the South China Sea.
“The Australian military aircraft deliberately intruded into the airspace around China’s Xisha Islands,” foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, using the Chinese name for the Paracel Islands.
“This violated Chinese sovereignty and endangered Chinese national security.”
“The Australian Government has expressed its concerns to the Chinese Government following an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with a People’s Liberation Army Air Force aircraft.
“This was an unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre that posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel.”
The mid-air incident is the latest in a string of episodes between China and Australia in the increasingly contested airspace and shipping lanes of Asia.
A Chinese fighter jet was accused of intercepting an Australian Seahawk helicopter in international airspace in 2024, dropping flares across its flight path.
In 2023, a Chinese destroyer was accused of bombarding submerged Australian navy divers with sonar pulses in waters off Japan, causing minor injuries.
The divers had been sailing on an Australian navy frigate, the HMAS Toowoomba, tasked with supporting sanctions enforcement efforts in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.