Australia has raised serious concerns regarding what it terms an “unsafe” Chinese military exercise after a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares near an Australian air force plane on a surveillance mission over the South China Sea.
On 11 February, the Australian Defence Force reported that its Poseidon surveillance plane was on a routine patrol when it encountered a Chinese Shenyang J-16 fighter jet. The Chinese aircraft allegedly fired flares close to the Australian aircraft, prompting the Australian military to call the move “unprofessional” and dangerous for both aircraft and crews.
Defence Minister Richard Marles described the flares as having come as close as 30 meters (approximately 100 feet) to the Australian aircraft, which normally carries approximately nine crew. Nobody was harmed, but Marles indicated that the incident could have had the “potential for significant damage.” Marles stated that Australian officials have already approached their Chinese counterparts in Canberra and Beijing with their concerns.
In response, China quickly pushed back, accusing the Australian aircraft of infringing on its sovereignty and jeopardizing national security. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, claimed that the Australian military had intruded into airspace near China’s Xisha Islands, also known as the Paracel Islands, without permission. This group of islands is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
Guo justified China’s action, mentioning actions taken to chase away Australian aircraft as “legitimate, legal, professional, and restrained.” He further said that Beijing has formally protested with Canberra, urging an end to what it views as “infringements and provocations.”
The South China Sea remains an extremely disputed region, with China asserting very expansive territorial claims despite an international ruling in 2016 finding that such claims have no basis in law. The latest confrontation is part of a series of Australian-China clashes in the increasingly restricted airspace and shipping lanes of Asia.
Aiding that, three Chinese warships were recently spotted in waters to the northeast of Australia’s mainland continent. Two Chinese frigates and one cruiser were within Australia’s ocean approaches, supported by an Australian Defence Department-escorted replenishment tanker.
While Marles accounted for the naval move as apparently having nothing to do with the plane incident, the Australian navy has deployed one of its own frigates to monitor the Chinese vessels. The Defence Department again asserted Australia’s commitment to uphold the freedom of all nations to pass through according to international law and at the same time insisting on the same to be granted to its own.
