In short:
China claims Australia provoked an incident on Tuesday where a Chinese fighter jet released flares in front of an Australian military plane in the South China Sea.
A Chinese defence spokesperson says Australia “infringed upon China’s rights” and is “spreading false narratives”.
Australian officials say they abided by international law and slammed the action as “unsafe and unprofessional” earlier this week.
Australian defence officials revealed on Tuesday during daylight hours a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jet released flares in the South China Sea within 30 metres of an Australian aircraft conducting “routine surveillance” of the contested waterways.
Defence said no personnel were injured and there was no damage to the Australian aircraft, but that formal objections had been lodged with the PLA both in Canberra and Beijing.
China says Australia “infringed upon China’s rights” after an incident involving a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter (pictured) on Tuesday. (Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP, File)
Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang on Friday hit back at comments from Defence labelling China’s actions as “unsafe and unprofessional”.
“Australia deliberately infringed upon China’s rights in the South China Sea and provoked China, yet it was the villain who complained first, spreading false narratives,” Mr Zhang said.
He accused the Australian military aircraft of ignoring the main routes in the busy waterway, saying it “broke into the homes” of others.
Mr Zhang said China’s response was reasonable and a legitimate defence of sovereignty.
“We urge Australia to abandon its illusion of speculation and adventure,” he said.
Mr Zhang urged Australia to restrain its frontline naval and air forces, instead of “stirring up trouble” in the South China Sea to the detriment of others and itself.
Defence Minister Richard Marles told the ABC the Australian aircraft was in international airspace and operating in accordance with international law.
“We’re not the only country that does it. But it is really important that we are asserting the rules of the road, as it were,” he said.
Mr Marles said the incident was dangerous as “there was no way that the pilot of the Chinese J16 could have been able to control where the flares then go”.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says an objection has been lodged after a Chinese fighter jet released flares within 30 metres of an Australian military plane in the South China Sea.
The Philippine foreign ministry also expressed concern over the incident, citing “unsafe manoeuvres” by the Chinese aircraft.
“All countries are expected to respect freedom of navigation and overflight in and above international sea lines of communication, such as the South China Sea,” it said in a statement.
China claims vast swathes of the South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
China’s claims in the South China Sea cut through the majority of its neighbours’ claims. (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser)
China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that its sweeping claims were not supported by international law.
