Australia has accused a Chinese fighter jet of nearly shooting down one of its surveillance aircraft with flares during an interaction in international airspace over the South China Sea earlier this week, Euronews reports.
The Australian government has expressed its concern to Beijing over the incident on Tuesday when one of its P-8 aircraft collided with two Chinese J-16 fighter jets.
Canberra said in a statement that one of the Chinese planes made an “unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre” that posed a danger to its personnel.
“Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner,” it added.
The Chinese embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said the flares fired by the Chinese plane passed within 30 metres of the P-8 surveillance plane. He also added:
“The J-16 was so close that there’s no way you could have been able to ensure that the flares did not hit the P-8. Had any of those flares hit the P-8, that would have definitely had the potential for significant damage to that aircraft.”
The incident was the first known clash between the two countries in nine months.
Australia said one of its helicopter pilots was forced to take evasive action to avoid flares dropped by a Chinese J-10 fighter jet over the Yellow Sea in May last year.
Canberra has also accused the Chinese navy of using sonar pulses in international waters off Japan in November 2023, saying Australian divers were injured as a result.
In an attempt to counter China, Australia joined the trilateral Aukus security partnership with the US and UK in 2021. Under the agreement, Canberra will receive nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
