Australia protested Thursday what it described as an “unsafe and unprofessional” interaction over the South China Sea where a Chinese fighter is accused of releasing flares that endangered an Australian military surveillance plane.
A Chinese J-16 fighter released flares on Tuesday that passed within 30 meters (100 feet) of a P-8 Poseidon surveillance jet in daylight and in international air space, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday.
The Australian plane usually carries eight or nine crew. The plane was not damaged and no crew member was injured, Marles said.
“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,” Marles told Sky News.
“Had any of those flares hit the P-8, that would have definitely had the potential for significant damage to that aircraft,” he added.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun in turn accused the Australian military aircraft of “deliberately” intruding into airspace over the disputed Paracel Islands, which China claims.
“China’s measures to drive away the aircraft were legitimate, lawful, professional and restrained,” Guo said.
Australia has protested in its capital Canberra and in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, Marles said.
The protest accused the two Chinese pilots of an “unsafe and unprofessional maneuver that posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel,” a statement said.
The protest highlights that while bilateral diplomatic and trade relations have improve, relations between the two militaries remain dangerous.
FSGT Ricky Fuller / AP
The interaction is the first significant clash between Chinese and Australian forces that Australia has disclosed in nine months.
Australia accused the pilot of a Chinese J-10 fighter of unsafe and unprofessional behavior over the Yellow Sea in May last year by dropping flares in the path of an Australian navy Seahawk helicopter.
Australia said the helicopter pilot had to take evasive action to avoid the flares.
There were no injuries or damage, although experts warned the helicopter could have been forced to ditch at sea if a flare had struck an engine.
China protested at the time that the helicopter had flown close to Chinese airspace and had attempted to carry out reconnaissance on a Chinese navy training exercise.
In November 2023, Australia accused Beijing of an unsafe and unprofessional interaction off the coast of Japan after a Chinese destroyer came close to an Australian military ship where divers were trying to untangle fishing nets from its propellers. Australia’s defense ministry said the Chinese vessel was “operating its hull-mounted sonar in a manner that posed a risk to the safety of the Australian divers who were forced to exit the water.”
In 2023, former President Joe Biden formally announced that Australia would purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. A partnership between the U.S., U.K. and Australia, announced in 2021, enabled Australia to access nuclear-powered submarines, which are stealthier and more capable than conventionally powered vessels, as a counterweight to China’s military buildup.
Tensions and military confrontations have escalated in the South China Sea in recent months. The Philippines and China have for years clashed over maritime rights in the South China Sea as well as possession of reefs and islets.
Last month, Filipino police said a submarine drone suspected to be from China was recovered in waters in the South China Sea.
In December, Chinese coast guard vessels backed by navy ships fired powerful water cannons and blocked and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel. U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Carlson, accused Beijing in a social media post of putting “lives at risk” by disrupting a Philippine maritime operation,
