‘Unsafe and unprofessional’ - Canberra protests against Chinese jet’s flare manoeuvre

Australia criticised China after a Chinese jet challenged an Australian patrol plane over the South China Sea. Photo / Getty Images

Australia has hit out at Beijing after one of its warplanes was challenged by a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea.

The fighter dropped flares near an Australian maritime patrol plane on Monday, Canberra’s defence department said, calling the incident “unsafe and unprofessional”.

It added that the manoeuvre “posed a risk to the aircraft and its personnel” as it carried out surveillance.

A spokesman for China’s People’s Liberation Army accused Australia of “illegally” invading the airspace around the Paracel Islands – which China calls the Xisha islands.

Beijing claims sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands, despite strong opposition from nearby countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, and an international ruling which found that China’s claims had no basis.

The spokesman said that “Australia’s actions seriously infringe upon China’s sovereignty” and are “likely to cause maritime and air accidents”.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said that Australia’s P-8A Poseidon aircraft was conducting a routine patrol when it was approached by the Su-35 fighter jet.

“No damage was done but it was dangerous and it was unsafe, and inherent in that is that it could have been a different outcome,” Marles said.

He said the Government had raised its concerns with the Chinese Embassy in Canberra and through the Australian Embassy in Beijing, adding that Australia would continue to conduct “freedom of navigation” exercises in the region.

It is the third known time that Australia has accused China of an unsafe airspace encounter in the past 18 months.

In February, a Chinese fighter jet similarly dropped flares near an Australian Air Force plane on a “routine” surveillance patrol over the South China Sea.

One of Beijing’s jets intercepted an Australian Seahawk helicopter in international airspace in May 2024, dropping flares across its flight path.

And in 2023, a Chinese destroyer bombarded 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.

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