China has defended its recent manoeuvre against an Australian Navy helicopter in the Yellow Sea, which Canberra deemed “unsafe and unprofessional”, saying it was “legal and reasonable”, Chinese media reported.
An MH-60R Seahawk helicopter launched from Hobart was intercepted by a Chinese fighter jet, which fired flares across the Australian aircraft’s flight path, Australia’s ministry said, adding that the unsafe manoeuvre “posed a danger to the aircraft and personnel”.
While there were no injuries, the Australian government “expressed concern” and said it expected all countries, including China, to “manage their armed forces professionally and safely”.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that his government had told China “through all our channels, using all measures at our disposal” that it was “unacceptable” when a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares next to an Australian helicopter in international waters, endangering the crew.
Separately, Australia’s Defence Department said in a statement that the incident occurred on Saturday when the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart was performing “routine activities” during a UN sanctions monitoring mission against North Korea in international waters in the Yellow Sea. The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea in the western Pacific Ocean between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula.
Late on Tuesday night, China’s defence ministry responded that Australia was “confused between right and wrong”.
Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said that between May 3-4, when the Chinese military was conducting exercises in the Yellow Sea, an Australian military helicopter was dispatched three times from Hobart “to conduct thorough reconnaissance and disrupt China’s normal training activities”.
Zhang said China’s warnings and forcing the helicopter to leave the airspace were “lawful, reasonable, professional and safe and fully in line with international law and international practice”.
The Chinese representative called on Australia to “respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns, stop spreading false reports … and cease all dangerous and provocative actions.”
Previous controversial and potentially dangerous incidents between Australia and China include a clash in waters near Japan last November, when Australia claimed a Chinese warship used hydroacoustic waves to disturb Australian Navy divers in the water trying to untangle fishing nets from the propellers of the frigate HMAS Toowoomba, resulting in minor injuries to the divers.
