The federal government has accused a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to an Australian helicopter on a United Nations mission in international waters.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, branded the incident “unacceptable”.
The helicopter pilot had to take evasive action to avoid being hit by the flares, Marles said. The government raised protests with the Chinese government over the altercation in the Yellow Sea off the Korean coastline.
“The consequence of being hit by the flares would have been significant,” Marles said. “Importantly, the helicopter was unaffected and all the crew are safe.
“This is a very serious incident. It was unsafe and it is completely unacceptable.”
The encounter, first reported by Nine News on Monday evening, occurred about 7.30pm on Saturday. No injuries were reported. The Albanese government has condemned the incident in the same grave terms it used after accusing a Chinese navy ship of targeting Australian divers with sonar pulses late last year.
Defence sources said Australian destroyer HMAS Hobart was in international waters in the Yellow Sea, which is situated between China’s eastern coast and South Korea’s western coast. The ship is participating in the United Nations’ Operation Argos, enforcing international sanctions against North Korea.
A Navy Seahawk helicopter, attached to HMAS Hobart, was conducting what was described as a routine flight when it was said to have been intercepted by a Chinese J-10 fighter jet.
Marles accused the Chinese jet of dropping flares in front of the helicopter, at a distance said to be 300 metres in front and 60 metres above the Australian chopper. He said the Australian pilot had to take evasive action to avoid the flares.
A defence department statement said the Chinese aircraft “released flares along the flight path of the Australian defence force (ADF) helicopter. This was an unsafe manoeuvre which posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel.”
Marles called the incident “both unsafe and unprofessional”. He had applied the same description to the November 2023 encounter between HMAS Toowoomba and a People’s Liberation Army navy destroyer.
Defence said the Chinese ship had deployed its sonar unit against Australian divers working to untangle fishing nets from the Toowoomba’s propellers, leading to minor injuries to two crew.
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China’s national defence ministry spokesperson, Wu Qian, denied the claims at the time, saying the Chinese ship “kept a safe distance from the Australian vessel and did not conduct any activity that could affect the Australian side’s diving operations”.
Regarding the weekend’s flare incident, the defence department said Australia “expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a professional and safe manner”.
“Defence has, for decades, undertaken maritime surveillance activities in the region and does so in accordance with international law, exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace.”
Marles gave a similar comment, saying: “We expect that when we have interactions with other militaries, including with the Chinese military, that those interactions are professional and safe. The interactions that were occurring by the PLA air force were unacceptable.
“We have formally expressed our concerns about this incident, and formally expressed that this was both unsafe and unprofessional. It is our expectation in the interaction of our two militaries is that they happen in a manner which is professional and safe for all concerned.
“HMAS Hobart continues in its work in enforcing those UN security council sanctions.”
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Guardian
