Australia on Sunday accused the Chinese military of putting an Australian Defence Force flight crew at risk when their plane was intercepted late last month over the South China Sea.

Defence Minister Richard Marles revealed a Chinese strike fighter had on May 26 intercepted an Australian P-8 surveillance craft, flying close and releasing flares before it accelerated and cut in front of the plane.

"At that moment, [the Chinese plane] then released a bundle of chaff which contains small pieces of aluminium, some of which were ingested into the engine of the P-8 aircraft," Marles told media Sunday.

"Quite obviously, this is very dangerous".

The crew were unharmed and were able to return to their base, Marles said, but Australia had conveyed its concerns to Beijing -- the first contact the country's new government has had with the Chinese military since it came to power on May 21.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was not unusual for Australia to undertake surveillance in the South China Sea, a region Beijing fiercely contests is its domain entirely, despite a 2016 Hague ruling that dismissed its historic claims.

China's stance has heightened tensions with the United States and its allies, which insist on freedom of navigation in the area.

Albanese said Australia had acted in "accordance with international law, exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters, and airspace".

The incident comes just three months after Australia accused the Chinese military of shining a military-grade laser at one of the country's defence planes over waters north of Australia.

The former Australian administration labelled the incident "an act of intimidation" and said it had the potential to endanger lives.

And earlier this month, Canada's military made a similar accusation, saying Chinese pilots acted unprofessionally during recent encounters with its planes in international airspace.

The Canadian aircraft, deployed in Japan as part of a multinational effort to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea, had to quickly modify their flight path to "avoid a potential collision with the intercepting aircraft", it said.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Top US general, in Stockholm, signals support for Sweden and Finland's NATO bids
Stockholm (AFP) June 4, 2022
Top US General Mark Milley said Saturday that the United States is determined to support Sweden and Finland as the countries pursue NATO membership, a statement underscored by his visit to the USS Kearsarge after it became the largest US warship ever to dock in Stockholm. "It's important for us, the United States, and it's important for the other NATO countries to show solidarity with both Finland and Sweden in this exercise," Milley said ahead of NATO's annual Baltic Sea naval manoeuvres. He w ... read more