Australian navy aircraft in South China Sea threatened sovereignty: China | World News

BEIJING: China on Tuesday warned Australia to cease “harmful and provocative” actions within the South China Sea, saying it lately expelled an Australian air drive surveillance plane from the maritime area as a result of it had threatened the nation’s territorial sovereignty.

The Chinese language overseas and defence ministry confirmed that a Folks’s Liberation Military (PLA) air drive fighter jet and an Australian P-8 reconnaissance plane have been concerned in an incident over the disputed South China Sea in Could.

In accordance with an announcement from Canberra launched on Sunday, the Chinese language J-16 drew alongside the Australian P-8 whereas the latter was on a routine surveillance mission in worldwide airspace in late Could earlier than releasing flares and chaff (metallic decoy) that entered at the very least one of many Australian plane’s engines.

The interception resulted in a harmful manoeuvre that posed a security menace to the P-8 plane and its crew, the Australian assertion mentioned.

The Chinese language defence ministry dismissed the allegation on Tuesday, accusing the Australian plane of scary the incident.

Senior colonel Tan Kefei, a Chinese language defence ministry spokesperson, mentioned the Australian navy plane critically threatened China’s sovereignty and safety and the countermeasures taken by the Chinese language navy have been affordable and lawful.

“The PLA Southern Theatre Command organised maritime and aerial forces to determine and warn away an Australian P-8A ASW plane, when it repeatedly approached the Chinese language airspace of the Xisha Islands for a close-in reconnaissance on Could 26 regardless of repeated warning from the Chinese language forces,” Tan mentioned in an announcement.

The Xisha islands, generally known as Paracel in English, is a disputed archipelago claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan within the northwestern a part of the South China Sea.

“The Australian warplane severely threatened China’s sovereign safety, and the Chinese language navy’s countermeasures have been skilled, protected, affordable and legit,” Tan mentioned.

The Chinese language overseas ministry backed up Tan’s assertion on Tuesday.

Chinese language overseas ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian alleged Canberra was spreading false details about the incident.

“China firmly opposes this. We urge the Australian facet to instantly cease such harmful and provocative actions and strictly limit the actions of naval and air forces, in any other case it should bear all the intense penalties,” Zhao mentioned on the common ministry briefing on Tuesday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has mentioned that his authorities had raised the problem with Beijing.

“This was not protected, what occurred, and we’ve made applicable representations to the Chinese language authorities expressing our concern,” Albanese was quoted as saying.

That is the second time in every week that Chinese language plane have been accused of endangering the reconnaissance flights of overseas air forces.

Final week, Canada mentioned Chinese language warplanes buzzed its reconnaissance plane imposing United Nations sanctions on North Korea.