China accused Australia of distorting facts and using inflammatory rhetoric following a mid-air encounter between the nations’ military aircraft and urged Canberra to avoid undermining bilateral ties.
Beijing made “stern representations” to Canberra after the latter said that a Chinese aircraft intercepted an Australian patrol plane in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner over the South China Sea on Sunday and that the PLA-AF Su-35 fighter jet “released flares in close proximity” to the RAAF plane.
The Australian statement “distorts the facts and falsely accuses China in an attempt to cover up its military aircraft’s illegal intrusion into Chinese airspace,” the defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles had rejected the intrusion assertion in comments Tuesday. He said the P-8A Poseidon was on a “routine maritime surveillance patrol that happened in international airspace, above international waters and at every moment our crew was adhering to international law.”
China is Australia’s largest trading partner and the two governments only recently patched up ties that deteriorated sharply during the pandemic. The US is Australia’s closest security ally and as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate, Canberra is struggling to strike a balance between the two.
“We urge the Australian side to immediately cease its provocations and inflammatory rhetoric, strictly restrain frontline naval and air forces, and avoid undermining China-Australia bilateral and military relations,” the Chinese military said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese traveled to China three months ago and this week visited the US where he agreed to a critical minerals deal aimed at helping western firms pivot away from Chinese supplies of rare earths.
China’s strong response and accusations highlight the mounting military tensions in the Asia-Pacific. Marles has previously characterized it as the most complex strategic circumstances Australia has faced since World War II.
Australia is also in the middle of a major military expansion including the planned acquisition of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus pact with the US and UK.
Still, the government remains confident it can manage the tensions, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers telling Bloomberg on Tuesday that “it’s possible to engage with the Americans in the way that we have been and to continue to stabilize and invest in that very important China relationship at the same time.”
With assistance from Catherine Wong.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
