The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday levelled an accusation against Australia adding that its navy helicopter deliberately flew within close range of Chinese airspace, which the ministry deemed a provocative move.
“An Australian military shipboard helicopter deliberately flew close to China’s airspace in the name of enforcing UNSC resolutions—a provocative move that threatened China’s maritime and air security,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
This comes after Australia protested to Beijing through multiple channels that a Chinese fighter jet endangered an Australian navy helicopter with flares over international waters, the prime minister said.
The incident occurred on Saturday as the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart was enforcing United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea in international waters in the Yellow Sea, the Defense Department said in a statement.
A Chinese Chengdu J-10 fighter jet released flares in the flight path of an Australian Navy Seahawk deployed from the Hobart 300 metres (986 feet) in front of the helicopter and 60 metres (197 feet) above, Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
The helicopter pilot had to “take evasive action not to be hit by those flares,” Marles said in a statement.
It was the most serious encounter between the two nations’ forces since Australia accused the Chinese destroyer CNS Ningbo of injuring Australian navy divers with sonar pulses in Japanese waters in November last year. Australia said China disregarded a safety warning to keep away from the Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba.
China maintains that the encounter happened outside Japanese territorial waters and that the Chinese warship caused no harm.
Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Australia this year for the first time in a decade as bilateral relations have improved in recent years from unprecedented lows.
(With PTI inputs)
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