BEIJING: China has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Australia following a dangerous mid-air encounter between their military aircraft over the South China Sea.
Defence ministry spokesman Jiang Bin confirmed Beijing delivered a stern protest regarding Sunday’s incident involving an Australian Poseidon surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet.
Australia reported that its aircraft was approached by the Chinese jet which released flares dangerously close during a routine patrol mission.
The Chinese military claimed it implemented effective countermeasures against what it described as an illegal intrusion into its airspace near the Xisha Islands.
Beijing’s defence ministry strongly criticised Australia’s official statement about the incident as deliberately misleading.
“We are strongly dissatisfied with this and have raised a stern protest with the Australian side,“ Jiang stated in an online declaration.
The spokesman accused Canberra of falsely blaming China for unsafe actions during the aerial confrontation.
“This fallacy is completely untenable,“ he emphasised.
Jiang demanded that Australia immediately cease all infringing and provocative operations in the region.
He affirmed that China’s military would continue taking necessary measures to protect national sovereignty against such incidents.
This confrontation represents the latest in escalating tensions between the two nations over disputed Asian airspace and maritime territories. – AFP
