A Chinese fighter jet carried out dangerous maneuvers threatening the safety of an Australian maritime surveillance plane over the South China Sea and forcing it to return to base, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday.
He said Canberra had expressed concern to China over the incident on May 26, which the Australian Ministry of Defence said took place in international airspace where a Chinese J-16 intercepted a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft on routine patrol.
Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said the Chinese jet flew very close to the Australian plane, and released flares and chaff that were ingested by the engines of the Poseidon, a converted Boeing 737-800.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The J-16 ... accelerated and cut across the nose of the P-8, settling in front of the P-8 at very close distance,” he told reporters in Melbourne. “At that moment, it then released a bundle of chaff, which contains small pieces of aluminum, some of which were ingested into the engine of the P-8 aircraft. Quite obviously, this is very dangerous.”
He said the crew of the P-8 responded professionally and returned the aircraft to its base.
There was no official response from Beijing.
Such incidents are not unprecedented. A collision between a US EP-3 surveillance plane and a Chinese air force jet in April 2001 resulted in the death of the Chinese pilot and the 10-day detention of the US aircrew by China.
Relations between Australia and China have been poor for years after Beijing imposed trade barriers and refused high-level exchanges in response to Canberra enacting rules targeting foreign interference in its domestic politics.
Australia and others have also sought to block Chinese inroads into the South Pacific, including Beijing’s signing of a security agreement with the Solomon Islands that could result in China stationing troops and ships in the country, which lies less than 2,000km from the Australian coast.
Last month’s incident comes amid increasingly aggressive behavior by the Chinese military in border areas and at sea targeting planes, ships and land forces from India, Canada, the US and the Philippines.
In February, Australia said a Chinese navy ship fired a laser at one of its Poseidon surveillance planes, illuminating it while in flight over Australia’s northern approaches and endangering the safety of the crew.
China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety and has been steadily ratcheting up pressure against other countries with claims to parts of the strategic waterway.
Albanese made the remarks as he embarked on a trip to East Timor and Indonesia.
Officials said he had a “warm and positive” conversation with East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta, whose country became the latest in the region to sign agreements with China.
Prior to departure, Albanese said he has not yet had an opportunity for a “one-on-one discussion” with the East Timorese government, but said the president was a friend and former constituent, so he was “confident that we can have good relations going forward.”
Asked what message he would be taking to Indonesian President Joko Widodo about China’s actions in the region, Albanese said initial discussions had been “cordial and positive,” and the Indonesian government had gone out of its way to host a significant delegation from his administration over the coming days.
Additional reporting by the Guardian
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