Australia flags Chinas unsafe flare drop in aerial encounter

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Richard Marles, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, speaks during an announcement at the Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Kuttabul, in Sydney, Australia, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

SYDNEY - Australia has raised concerns with Beijing after a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares near one of its maritime patrol planes, the defence department said on Monday, labelling the incident unsafe and unprofessional.

The Chinese jet released flares in close proximity to an Australian maritime patrol plane carrying out surveillance in the South China Sea, posing a risk to the latter craft and its crew, Australias defence department said in a statement.

This was an unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre, it added. Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner.

Chinas military gave Australia a warning and called the incident an intrusion by the plane into its airspace around the Paracel Islands, which it deployed naval and air forces to monitor and expel.

Australias actions constitute a grave violation of Chinas sovereignty and pose a high risk of triggering maritime and aerial incidents, the spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command air force said in a statement on Monday.

No injuries were reported in the encounter between the Peoples Liberation Army jet and the aircraft of the Australian Air Force, the Australian defence department statement said, while the P-8A Poseidon patrol plane was not damaged.

The Chinese jet fired flares on two occasions, Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a television interview with