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.
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.
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 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 interaction is the first significant clash between Chinese and Australian forces that Australia has disclosed in nine months.
