Australia accuses Beijing of ‘unsafe’ behaviour in South China Sea incident

Marles said no Australian personnel were injured in the incident.

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Marles declined to provide details on exactly how close the flares were fired at the P-8A Poseidon. The government made the latest incident public more quickly than it had followed up on previous similar encounters.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra has been approached for comment.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis said the risk of Australian personnel dying in such an incident was real unless the government took tougher action against Beijing.

“The Chinese will continue to do this, and voicing concerns does not stop them from doing it again,” he said.

“Instead of voicing our concerns, we need to give a more robust response. We can summon the ambassador and reduce interaction on defense and security issues.”

“To really get their attention, we cut off the trade elements they are interested in. If we want to impose a cost on China for events like this, it will cost us too.”

He said a change in wind direction could have caused smoke from the flares to enter the Poseidon’s engine and crash the plane, endangering the lives of the 12 to 14 crew members routinely on board.

“The more these incidents occur, the greater the likelihood of something serious occurring,” he said.

Davis said the incident could have been caused by overly aggressive behavior by a particular Chinese pilot, but he said it was remarkable timing that the interaction occurred on the eve of Albanese’s arrival in the United States to meet with Trump.

“This could be Beijing sending a signal to Australia not to accept the Trump administration’s demands for a tougher stance on China,” he said.

The incident is one of several recent dangerous encounters between the Chinese and Australian militaries.

In February, the government said a Poseidon aircraft was involved in an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with a Chinese aircraft while conducting a routine maritime surveillance patrol in the South China Sea.

This followed a similar incident in May 2024, when a Chinese warplane dropped a flare dangerously close to an Australian helicopter serving on a United Nations mission in international waters in the Yellow Sea.

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In November 2023, Australian navy divers were injured by sonar pulses from a Chinese warship while operating in international waters off the coast of Japan.

Opposition defense spokesman Angus Taylor called on Albanese to publicly condemn the “manifestly unacceptable” incident and demand an end to such encounters.

“The Prime Minister should use his so-called improved relationship with the Chinese regime to reach a firm agreement that these provocative actions will be stopped,” Taylor said.