Australia has protested what it describes 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.
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 Chinese embassy in Australia did not immediately response to a request for comment on Thursday. The protest highlights that while bilateral diplomatic and trade relations have improve, relations between the two militaries remain dangerous.
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.
