Protests have been lodged after a Chinese fighter jet fired flares into the path of an Australian navy helicopter over international waters.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused Beijing of “unacceptable” behavior after reports that a Chinese fighter jet fired flares into the flight path of an Australian navy helicopter over international waters.
The MH60R Seahawk helicopter flew over the Yellow Sea on Saturday as part of United Nations efforts to enforce sanctions against North Korea when a Chinese Air Force J-10 jet dropped flares overhead and several hundred meters in front of it, Australia’s Department of Defense said Monday evening.
“We have just made it very clear to China that this is unprofessional and it is unacceptable,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Australian network Nine on Tuesday.
Albanese said Australia had raised its concerns through diplomatic and military channels, although Beijing was yet to respond.
Australian Defense Force personnel were “in international waters, in international airspace, and they are working to ensure that the sanctions that the world has imposed through the United Nations on North Korea, due to of his intransigent and reckless behavior, be applied.” he said.
“They should not have taken any risk,” he added.
It is the second such incident in six months after Canberra said in November that a Chinese destroyer injured Australian navy divers in Japanese waters by deliberately blasting them with sonar pulses.
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry denied deploying the sonar and said no damage had been caused.
Albanian made a revolutionary journey in China last year, welcoming improved economic ties after years of feuding and retaliation.
But security tensions remain as Australia moves closer to the United States in a bid to counter China’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to visit Australia next month, Albanese noted.
“We will also express our position clearly during the discussions,” he said.
“Violation of international law”
On Monday, Defense Minister Richard Marles said the flares were 300 meters (986 feet) in front of the helicopter and 60 meters (197 feet) above it, forcing the pilot to “take avoidance measures so as not to be hit by these flares.” »
The minister said the consequences of being hit by the flares would have been significant. In the event, no injuries or damage were reported.
Jennifer Parker, a marine expert at the Australian National University and former naval officer, told public broadcaster ABC that the Chinese use of flares was “incredibly dangerous” and could have led to a halt to the engines.
“It’s not normal, far from it,” she said. “Hindering its flight path, I would interpret as a violation of international law.”
In 2022, Australia lodged a protest against a Chinese navy ship. pointed a laser on an Australian military plane near the northern coast of Australia.
In another incident in 2022, Australia said a Chinese fighter jet “dangerously intercepted» an Australian military surveillance plane over the disputed South China Sea, releasing a “chaff packet” containing pieces of aluminum that was ingested into the Australian plane’s engine.
Chinese naval vessels have been spotted off the coast of Australia several times in recent years, including during surveillance exercises with the US military.
