SYDNEY, Australia: Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday accused Beijing of “unacceptable” conduct after a Chinese fighter jet fired flares into the flight path of an Australian navy helicopter over international waters.
Australia’s Defence Department announced late Monday that the helicopters flew over the Yellow Sea on May 4 as part of a United Nations effort to impose sanctions on North Korea.
Chinese military aircraft soon “intercepted” the helicopter and threatened it by firing flares into its flight path, defence officials said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Australia’s Nine on Tuesday: “We have just told China that this is unprofessional and not acceptable.
He demanded on behalf of the Australian public some form of explanation as to how this could have happened.
Australian prime minister said the concerns had been raised through diplomatic and military channels, although China had yet to respond.
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Canberra said in November that a Chinese destroyer had injured submerged Australian Navy divers by deliberately blasting them with sonar pulses.
At the time, Beijing’s foreign ministry insisted that China’s military had “always carried out professional operations in accordance with international law”.
Albanese made a breakthrough trip to China last year and welcomed improved trade relations after years of bickering and reprisals.
But security tensions remain as Australia moves closer to the United States in an effort to blunt China’s expanding influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
