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A Chinese jet fighter fired flares at an Australian navy helicopter in international waters, in an incident Defense Minister Richard Marles condemned as unprofessional and unacceptable.
9News can reveal the near-catastrophic incident happened at around 7.30pm (AEST time) on Saturday during a routine operation in the Yellow Sea off South Korea.
A Navy Seahawk operating off HMAS Hobart was intercepted by a Chinese Air Force J10 aircraft.
“The PLA Air Force aircraft dropped missiles about 300 meters in front of the Seahawk helicopter about 60 meters above, requiring the helicopter to take evasive action to avoid being hit by those missiles,” Marles told 9News.
Defense sources told 9News that the quick reflexes of the Australian pilot prevented the disaster – the Seahawk normally operates with a crew of four to six.
Marles condemned the incident and said Beijing had been formally informed of Australia’s concerns.
HMAS Hobart is participating in Operation Argos, a UN mission to prevent the smuggling of sanctioned goods from North Korea across the high seas.
“This was an incident that was both unsafe and unprofessional,” Marles said.
“Australians are now engaged in the important work of implementing UN Security Council sanctions and in doing this work we are acting on the high seas in accordance with international law under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
“And we expect that when we have interactions with other militaries, including the Chinese military, those interactions are professional and safe.” This incident was completely unacceptable.
“We have expressed our concern to the Chinese government officially regarding this incident. HMAS Hobart continues its work to implement these UN Security Council sanctions.”
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