Fury Erupts After Australian Surveillance Plane Intercepted By Chinese Fighter Jet

A Chinese fighter jet intercepted an Australian surveillance plane in international airspace over the South China Sea late last month.

Undertaking routine maritime surveillance on May 26, the RAAF P-8 was intercepted by a J-16 fighter aircraft that “resulted in a dangerous maneuver which posed a safety threat” to the P-8 and its crew, the Department of Defence said in a statement Sunday.

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It's claimed the jet released an anti-radar device with small pieces of metal that entered the RAAF aircrafts engine.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said it was a dangerous maneuver that could have cost lives.

“In flying close to the side, it released flares, the J-16 then accelerated and cut across the nose of the P-8, settling in front” at very close range," he said.

“At that moment, it then released a bundle of chaff which contains small pieces of aluminum, some of which were ingested into the engine of the P-8 aircraft. Quite obviously, this is very dangerous.”

- Mr Marles

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters ahead of his trip to Indonesia that the incident was concerning.

“In the Australian government’s view, in the Defence Department’s view, this was not safe, what occurred, and we’ve made appropriate representations to the Chinese government expressing our concern at this,” he said on Sunday.

The director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s defence strategy and national security program, Michael Shoebridge, said the event was an “escalation of overt aggression”.

“This is an international issue – not a bilateral domestic issue – with the Chinese military behaving dangerously and aggressively towards several nations,” Shoebridge said.

“This is a real eye-opener for the governments and the South Pacific of the consequences of allowing China to operate more routinely out of the region. It should give [Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh] Sogavare solemn pause in his willingness to enable the [People’s Liberation Army] to operate out of the Solomons.”

- Mr Shoebridge

It comes after a Chinese navy vessel allegedly shone a military grade laser towards an Australian reconnaissance plane in February.

Then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called it an “act of intimidation.”

The tense relationship between Australia and China has been ongoing since Beijing imposed trade barriers, while Australia set rules targeting foreign interference in its domestic politics.

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