PM condemns China for fighter jet dropping flares in front of Australian helicopter

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the authorities has lodged complaints with China astatine aggregate levels aft a Chinese combatant pitchy dropped flares successful beforehand of an Australian Navy chopper successful planetary waters.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called for Albanese to telephone Chinese President Xi Jinping to explicit his “disgust” astatine the unsafe incident, saying it could person caused deaths.

The brushwood successful the Yellow Sea connected Saturday nighttime has further strained efforts to stabilise relations with Beijing and comes arsenic Australian officials hole to big a sojourn by Chinese Premier Li Qiang adjacent month.

The Department of Defence confirmed that a Royal Australian Navy MH-60R chopper launched from HMAS Hobart was intercepted by a PLA-AF combatant craft astatine a region of 300 metres successful beforehand and 60 metres supra the helicopter.

The chopper aviator averted catastrophe by taking evasive enactment to debar the flares.

Albanese said that navy unit were moving successful the Yellow Sea to guarantee the enforcement of United Nations sanctions connected North Korea, making China’s intercept “completely unacceptable”.

“We’ve made the due diplomatic representations, arsenic you’d expect. We respect this arsenic unprofessional and that it is unacceptable and we’ve made clear, that presumption to Beijing, some done Beijing and besides done Canberra,” Albanese told Nine’s Today programme connected Tuesday.

Albanese would not corroborate if helium had called Chinese President Xi Jinping to sermon the incident, but said helium would rise the substance with Li straight erstwhile they conscionable successful Australia adjacent month.

“We bash person communications with China. That includes visits, and the Chinese Premier volition beryllium present successful June,” Albanese said.

“We volition marque our presumption wide arsenic good successful discussions.”

Albanese added that “I deliberation the Australian nationalist would expect immoderate signifier of mentation astir however this could occur”.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urged Albanese connected Tuesday to prime up the telephone and explicit heavy interest to President Xi, urging him to “express his dismay – and, really, disgust – with what has happened due to the fact that they person enactment Australian lives astatine hazard and that is wholly unacceptable”.

An Australian Navy Seahawk chopper had a adjacent miss with a Chinese combatant jet.

“We privation bid to prevail successful our region, but we don’t bash it from a presumption of weakness. I deliberation the premier curate has to prime the telephone up and explicit our heavy concern, because, astatine the moment, we’ll spot a effect from China to contradict that it happened oregon that we had made a mistake,” helium told Nine’s Today program.

“It is astatine immoderate signifier going to escalate, possibly by accident, but it’ll beryllium that unintended consequence, and Australian Defence Force unit volition wage with their lives and we don’t privation to spot that.”

The Chinese embassy successful Canberra has been contacted for comment.

In a statement, the Department of Defence criticised China’s behaviour arsenic posing a hazard to the craft and personnel.

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“While determination were nary injuries sustained by ADF unit oregon damaged caused to the MH-60R helicopter, the information and wellbeing of our ADF unit continues to beryllium our utmost priority,” the section stated.

The revelation of the incidental came arsenic reports emerged that the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence had been targeted by a monolithic China cyberattack that revealed the details of equipped forces personnel.

In November 2023, 2 Australian navy divers were injured during an cognition successful planetary waters connected HMAS Toowoomba aft a Chinese warship released sonar pulses.

Albanese condemned Beijing for the “dangerous” behaviour but resisted calls to uncover whether helium raised the substance with President Xi erstwhile they spoke connected the sidelines of the APEC summit.

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