The Chinese government has issued a warning in Canberra for defending the actions of its pilot who intercepted a Royal Australian Air Force surveillance plane over the South China Sea last month.
China has warned Australia to be “cautious in its words” as it defended the actions of a Chinese pilot on a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) plane last month.
The Australian Department of Defense released a statement on Sunday announcing that a P-8 aircraft had been intercepted by a Chinese aircraft on May 26 while conducting “routine maritime surveillance” in international airspace.
The statement said a “dangerous maneuver” over the South China Sea by a Chinese J-16 plane left the Australian crew on the P-8 maritime plane fearing for its safety.
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Defense Minister Richard Marles was briefed on the incident, which he described as “very dangerous”.
Overnight, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian suggested that Canberra could face “serious consequences” if it did not respect China’s national security interests.
“China will never allow any country to invade China’s sovereignty and security or undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea under the pretext of freedom of navigation,” he said.
“China once again urges the Australian side to seriously respect China’s national security interests and major concerns, and to be cautious in its words and actions to avoid miscalculations and serious consequences.”
Beijing claims a number of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea and argues that the region’s waters and airspace belong to Beijing.
Mr. Marles detailed on Sunday what happened on the hotly contested body of water.
“What happened was that the J-16 (Chinese) plane flew very close to the side of the P-8 (Australian) maritime surveillance aircraft,” he said.
“Flying close to the side, he fired flares.
“The J-16 then accelerated and cut the nose of the P-8, settling in front of the P-8 at a very close distance.
“At that time, he then released a bundle of straw, which contained small pieces of aluminum, some of which were ingested into the engine of the P-8 aircraft.”
There was a similar encounter in the sky with a Chinese plane and a Canadian military plane where the crew was forced to take evasive measures “to avoid a possible collision with the intercepting plane”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Marles said the government had expressed its “concerns” in Beijing, but declined to share how Chinese officials responded.
Albanese – who is visiting Indonesia this week to strengthen ties with his long-term partner – called the Chinese pilot’s actions a dangerous act of aggression.
“In the opinion of the Australian government, according to the Department of Defense, this was not certain, what happened, and we have made the appropriate representations to the Chinese government expressing our concern about this,” he said on Monday.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who has accompanied Mr Albanese to the neighboring country, said Indonesia was an important partner in Australia.
“I think everyone understands that we live in a time when the region is being reshaped, and what is important is that countries work together to ensure that this region remains peaceful, prosperous and respectful of sovereignty,” he said.
“Indonesia is a very important partner for Australia, a very important neighbor, it is fundamental to our security, we share a region and our future is tied to the region we share, so it was very important to meet with it. “.