Australia accuses China of unsafe behavior after fighter jet dropped flares into helicopter path

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia has protested to Beijing through multiple channels that a Chinese fighter jet endangered an Australian navy helicopter with flares over international waters, the prime minister said Tuesday.

He incident occurred on Saturday as the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart was enforcing U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea in international waters of the Yellow Sea, officials said Monday. No injuries or damage were reported.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian public was waiting for an explanation from China.

“We have just made it very clear to China that this is unprofessional and unacceptable,” Albanese told Nine Network television.

“We have made it very clear … through all of our channels, with all the measures at our disposal, including here publicly,” Albanese said.

He said Beijing had yet to make any public comment on the incident.

“It is important that we speak up when events like this occur. It is important that we make our position clear, what has been done at the diplomatic level, from government to government, but also from defense to defense. And all those paths have become clear. “We have made this matter public so we can say very clearly and unequivocally that this behavior is unacceptable,” the prime minister said.

Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Monday that a Chinese Chengdu J-10 fighter jet dropped flares in the flight path of an Australian Navy Seahawk helicopter deployed from Hobart.

He said the flares were 300 meters (986 feet) in front of the helicopter and 60 meters (197 feet) above and that the helicopter pilot had to “take evasive action to avoid being hit by those flares.”

“The consequences of being hit by the flares would have been significant,” Marles said.

“We will not be deterred from engaging in lawful activities and activities aimed at enforcing UN sanctions regarding North Korea,” Marles added.

It was the most serious encounter between the two nations’ forces since Australia accused the Chinese destroyer CNS Ningbo of Injuring Australian Navy divers. with sonar pulses in Japanese waters in November. Australia said China ignored a safety warning to stay away from the Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba.

China maintains that the encounter occurred outside Japanese territorial waters and that the Chinese warship caused no damage.

Albanese said the meeting would be raised with Chinese Premier Li Qiang when he visits Australia next month.

Albanese was referring to the period since 2020, when China ended ministerial talks with the previous Australian government, which lost power in the 2022 election.

“One of the things that had been broken over a period of time was dialogue. Dialogue is important. It is always, always important to have lines of communication,” Albanese told reporters.

During a visit to China in early November, Albanese invited the Chinese president Xi Jinping visiting Australia for the first time in a decade, as bilateral relations have improved in recent years from unprecedented levels. On Tuesday he said Xi would not visit Australia this year.

But Albanese said he hoped to have “some face-to-face engagement” with the Chinese leader when they both attend the G20 and APEC summits later this year.

Australian National University marine expert and former naval officer Jennifer Parker described Chinese use of flares as “incredibly dangerous”.

“If the helicopter had ingested one of the flares into its engine, it could have shut down the helicopter’s engines and we could have seen the helicopter ditch with possible injuries or loss of life,” Parker told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“So this is not normal in any way,” Parker added. “Impeding its flight path would be interpreted as a violation of international law.