The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, has condemned the “unsafe and unprofessional” behaviour of the Chinese military, saying a fighter jet released flares close to an Australian surveillance plane over the South China Sea.
Australia’s defence forces expressed “concerns” about the incident in a statement, saying it posed a risk to Royal Australian Air Force personnel and their aircraft. No injuries or damage was sustained as a result of actions.
It is at least the third such incident in the past 18 months, with similar contested encounters occurring in February and in May 2024.
The Australian surveillance aircraft, a P-8A Poseidon, is built in a modified Boeing 737 airframe, meaning it cannot manoeuvre quickly when compared to a fighter aircraft.
Marles said the Chinese fighter plane let off the flares “very close” to the Australian aircraft on Sunday, but would not say whether it was directly in its flight path.
“It was dangerous, and it was unsafe, and inherent in that is that … it could have been a different outcome,” Marles, who is also the defence minister, said on Monday.
“And it’s because of determining it to be both unsafe and unprofessional that we are now making this public and going through the very set procedures that we do when this occurs.”
In a statement released on the defence department’s website, the Australian government said it “expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner”.
“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,” it said.
Guardian Australia has contacted the Chinese embassy in Canberra for comment.
In February, shortly before the federal election, Australia rejected Chinese allegations a RAAF plane “deliberately intruded into China’s airspace” and undermined its national security. It came after a Chinese navy fighter pilot released flares near the Australian aircraft.
The federal government previously said an Australian helicopter on a UN mission in May 2024 had to take evasive action to avoid being hit by flares released by a Chinese fighter jet in another incident condemned as “unacceptable”.
Australia, and allies such as the US and regional partners, routinely conduct freedom of navigation exercises through international waters in the South China Sea in accordance with international law.
The region is contested with Beijing asserting large parts of it belong to China, while Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines dispute those claims.
