Australia has accused a Chinese military aircraft of releasing flares “in close proximity” to its patrol jet over the South China Sea.
The Australian government has raised its concern with Beijing over the “unsafe and unprofessional” manoeuvre, the defence department said in a statement on Monday.
There was no damage to Australia’s P-8A aircraft and its personnel were unharmed after Sunday’s encounter.
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Australia Defence Force said it expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner.
This is the latest in a string of encounters between the two countries’ militaries in the region, where China’s vast claims over islands and outcrops overlap with those of its neighbours.
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The ‘sabre rattling’ has been practiced by China for a long time, and not only against Australia. And China’s claims the Australian aircraft illegally entered its airspace is factually incorrect.
[Edit typo.]
Sabre rattling just means a display or show of force of military strength. Doesn’t have anything to do with being in China’s borders. What the Australian military and Chinese military are doing in the South China sea absolutely classifies. The only way it would be in China’s borders is if you consider their South China sea claims legitimate. Which, as far as I’m aware, is only recognised by China itself.
Right, so nothing stated in my comment was wrong?