China hits back at Australia over ‘provocative’ air incident

China has accused Australia of seriously violating China’s sovereignty over the unsafe encounter of a People’s Liberation Army aircraft with an Australian Air Force patrol aircraft in international airspace.

The revelation of the incident by Australia, which happened on Sunday above the South China Sea, came hours before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s meeting with US President Donald Trump, where relations with China featured prominently.

Defence Minister Richard Marles on Monday said a Chinese aircraft had released flares in “very close” proximity to an Australian P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, risking the lives of Australian personnel.

In response, Chinese Senior Colonel Li Jianjian demanded that Australia “immediately stop such provocative moves”, and said the incident had “seriously infringed upon China’s sovereignty”.

“The troops in the theatre are on high alert at all times to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the region,” Li said in a statement.

Speaking on Nine’s Today program, Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the Chinese actions as “unsafe and unprofessional” and said Australia would continue to exercise its right to fly over international waters.

“We have been clear, along with our partners that we will continue to assert our rights under international law, our right of overflight, our right of freedom of navigation. We will continue to do that along with our partners in the region that is in our national interests.

Richard Marles said the government had raised concerns with the Chinese embassy in Canberra and authorities in Beijing about the incident, in line with the response to similar recent events.

The Australian aircraft was operating in international airspace on a maritime surveillance patrol, Marles said.

Beijing has sought to exert dominance in the South China Sea, which it claims as its sovereign territory despite an international tribunal finding there was no legal basis to its claims of historic rights inside China’s self-determined “nine-dash line”.

Marles said that it was not “gratuitous” for the Australian military to operate in the contested region given its importance to the Australian economy.

“Literally, most of Australia’s trade goes through the South China Sea and the rules-based order applying there is fundamental to our national interest,” he told Sky News.

No Australian personnel were injured in the incident, Marles said.

Marles declined to provide detail on exactly how close the flares were released to the P-8A Poseidon. The government went public about the latest incident more quickly than following similar previous encounters.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra was approached for comment.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis said there was a real risk that Australian personnel could die in such an incident unless the government takes tougher action on Beijing.

‘The more these incidents happen, the greater the likelihood of something serious occurring.’

Malcolm Davis, ASPI

“The Chinese will continue to do this, and expressing concern doesn’t stop them from doing it again,” he said.

“We need to take a more robust response rather than just expressing concern. We could call the ambassador in and reduce engagement on defence and security matters.

“To really get their attention, we would cut off elements of trade they are interested in. If we want to impose a cost on China for incidents like this, it will cost us as well.”

Davis said change of wind direction could cause the smoke from the flares to enter the Poseidon’s engine and cause the plane to crash, endangering the lives of the 12 to 14 crew who would routinely be on board.

“The more these incidents happen, the greater the likelihood of something serious occurring,” he said.

Davis said the incident could be due to the overly aggressive behaviour of a particular Chinese pilot, but said it was remarkable timing that the interaction occurred on the eve of Albanese arriving in the United States for his meeting with Trump.

“This could be Beijing sending a signal to Australia not to accept Trump administration requests to take a harder line on China,” he said.

Dangerous encounters

The incident is one of several recent dangerous encounters between the Chinese and Australian militaries.

In February, the government revealed a Poseidon aircraft was involved in an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with a Chinese aircraft while conducting a routine maritime surveillance patrol in the South China Sea.

This followed a similar event in May 2024, when a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares dangerously close to an Australian helicopter operating on a United Nations mission in international waters in the Yellow Sea.

In November 2023, Australian navy divers were injured by sonar pulses from a Chinese warship while operating in international waters off the coast of Japan.

Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor called for Albanese to publicly condemn the “plainly unacceptable” incident and demand an end to such encounters.

“The prime minister ought to use his supposed improved relationship with the Chinese regime to get an unequivocal agreement that these provocative actions will stop,” Taylor said.

“If the prime minister cannot get that assurance, it shows he is failing to stand up for Australia’s interests on the international stage.”

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