On February 11, the South China Sea became the scene of a tense confrontation involving two Chinese fighter jets and an Australian Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft. The incident has led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, with Canberra accusing Beijing of engaging in “unsafe” military practices.
The Australian Department of Defence reported that a Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft, conducting a routine surveillance flight in international airspace over the region, was approached by two Chinese aircraft that performed dangerous maneuvers. According to the Department of Defence, one of the Shenyang J-16 fighter jets came within 30 meters of the P-8, firing flares at the Australian aircraft.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles stated in an interview with Sky News that no one aboard the aircraft was injured and no damage was reported. However, he emphasized that “the J-16 was so close that there was no guarantee the flares wouldn’t strike the P-8. Had any of these flares hit the P-8, they would have certainly had the potential to cause significant damage to the aircraft.”
Protests were held in both Australia’s capital and Beijing, according to The Independent newspaper. Australia criticized the Chinese pilots for performing “unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers that posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel.”
In response, China rejected Australia’s complaints, claiming that the RAAF aircraft had “deliberately violated Chinese airspace over the Xisha Islands without permission” and infringed upon its sovereignty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun defended the actions of the pilots, stating that “we took legitimate, legal, professional, and moderate measures to launch the aircraft” and urged Australia to “cease its provocations.”
This is not the first military clash between the two countries. In May 2024, Australia accused a Chinese fighter jet of engaging in unsafe behavior by firing warning flares at a Chinese naval helicopter in the Yellow Sea. According to The Independent, the flares did not hit the aircraft, but China justified the actions, asserting that the helicopter had entered Chinese airspace during naval maneuvers.
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