South China Sea: China slams Australian military plane for ‘intruding’ into its airspace

China and Australia traded accusations on Thursday over military activities in the South China Sea, with Beijing saying an Australian military plane “deliberately” intruded into Chinese airspace and Canberra suggesting that a Chinese fighter jet conducted “unsafe” manoeuvres.

The Chinese foreign ministry said China expelled the Australian plane after it “deliberately intruded into the airspace of China’s Paracel Islands without China’s permission and violated China’s sovereignty” on Tuesday.

China has made “solemn representations” to Australia on the matter “demanding Australia to stop infringing its rights, provoking [China], and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea”, ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Beijing claims the Paracel Islands – known as the Xisha Islands in China – as its own, along with other key islands in the resource-rich waters. The archipelago is controlled by China but is also claimed by Vietnam.

The ministry’s comments came on the same day that Australia’s Department of Defence accused a Chinese J-16 fighter jet of undertaking “unsafe and unprofessional” actions towards an Australian maritime surveillance plane in the disputed waters.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said a Chinese jet released flares within 30 metres (100 feet) of an Australian air force P-8A Poseidon aircraft, after it was “challenged by a couple of J-16 Chinese air force planes” during a routine patrol in international airspace, without specifying the location.