Chinese aircraft makes ‘unsafe’ flare drop in front of Australian plane

A Chinese plane deployed flares near a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft in an "unsafe" incident in the South China Sea, the government says.

The Department of Defence said it has "expressed its concerns" with its Chinese counterparts following an interaction between a People's Liberation Army–Air Force (PLA-AF) aircraft and a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft yesterday.

The PLA-AF aircraft released flares in close proximity to the RAAF aircraft, the department said in a statement.

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"This was an unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre that posed a risk to the aircraft and its personnel," the statement reads.

"No injuries were sustained by Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel nor was damage caused to the RAAF P-8A.

"The safety and wellbeing of our ADF personnel continues to be our utmost priority."

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the proximity of the flares during what otherwise was a routine exercise made it an "unsafe" situation.

"As it (the RAAF plane) was doing that, a PLA Air Force [jet] came alongside – that, in and of itself is pretty routine," he told Sky News.

"It released flares, that of itself can be a reasonably standard interaction between two military aircraft.

"But on two occasions, it released flares very close to the [the RAAF plane] and it's really that, the proximity at which the flares were released, which has given us cause to deem this unsafe and unprofessional."

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The government said it expects all countries, including China, to exercise caution and safety when operating its military.

"For decades, the ADF has undertaken maritime surveillance activities in the region and does so in accordance with international law, exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace," the statement added.

"All maritime claims must be consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."

It follows a similar incident earlier this year when another Chinese aircraft dropped flares within 30 metres of an Australian military plane, also in the South China Sea.

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