Sydney: Australia has accused a Chinese military aircraft of releasing flares "in close proximity" to its patrol jet over the South China Sea. The Australian government has raised its concern with Beijing over the "unsafe and unprofessional" manoeuvre, the defence department said in a statement. There was no damage to Australia's P-8A aircraft and its personnel were unharmed following Sunday's encounter.

According to BBC, this incident is the latest in a series of interactions between the two countries' militaries in the region, where China's extensive territorial claims overlap with those of its neighbors. The encounter occurred as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was on his way to the US for a meeting with President Donald Trump, where discussions were expected to focus on the Aukus submarine deal involving Australia, the US, and the UK.

Australia previously accused a Chinese jet of dropping flares near an Australian plane in the area in February, to which China responded by asserting that the Australian jet had intentionally intruded into its airspace and their response was "lawful and restrained." While Australia does not have claims in the South China Sea, it has aligned closely with the US and its allies, challenging China's assertions as lacking legal basis.

In May last year, a Chinese fighter plane was accused of dropping flares close to an Australian navy helicopter participating in a UN Security Council mission on the Yellow Sea off the Korean coastline. More recently, in November 2023, Canberra accused Beijing's navy of deploying sonar pulses in international waters off Japan, which led to injuries among Australian divers.