ADF helicopter forced to take evasive action after Chinese fighter jet fired flares at close range

An Australian navy helicopter pilot had to take evasive action to avoid hitting several flares fired by a nearby Chinese fighter jet over international waters near North Korea.

An Australian navy helicopter pilot was forced to take evasive action to avoid hitting several flares fired by a nearby Chinese fighter jet over international waters near North Korea.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has condemned the “very serious” incident as “unsafe” and “unprofessional,” while Australia has formally registered its concern with Beijing.

Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart was in the Yellow Sea taking part in Operation Argos, an international effort to prevent North Korea smuggling sanctioned goods by sea, when the incident occurred at about 7.30pm Australian time on Saturday.

Mr Marles said a MH-60R Seahawk helicopter operating from the destroyer was taking a routine flight when it was “intercepted” by a J-10 Chinese Air Force plane.

“The PLA-Air Force plane dropped flares about 300m in front of the Seahawk helicopter and about 60m above it, requiring the helicopter to take evasive action in order to not be hit by those flares,” he said.

A Royal Australian Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter was forced to make evasive moves to avoid flares fired by a Chinese fighter jet.

“The consequence of being hit by the flares would have been significant.

“Importantly, the helicopter was unaffected and all the crew are safe.”

Mr Marles said the interactions between the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Australian Defence Force were “unacceptable”.

“This is a very serious incident,” he said.

“We expect that when we have interactions with other militaries, including with the Chinese military, that those interactions are professional and safe.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles says the incident was ‘unsafe’ and ‘unprofessional’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the incident as “unprofessional” and “unacceptable” on Tuesday morning. 

“We’ve made the appropriate diplomatic representations as you’d expect, we regard this as unprofessional and that it is unacceptable and we’ve made it clear that view to Beijing both through Beijing and also through Canberra,” he said on the Today show. 

Mr Albanese said there’s been no response from China at this stage.  

“They haven’t responded publicly at this point in time, I expect that they will do so, but I think the Australian public would expect some form of explanation about how this could occur, because it was not behaviour that we expect when Australia is going about playing a role as we do an important role as good international citizens.” 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident on Tuesday morning. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Prime Minister needed to “pick the phone up and speak to the Chinese president.” 

“We’ve had attacks before on our naval divers. I think the Prime Minister needs to pick the phone up, frankly, and speak to the Chinese president, President Xi, and express our deep concern,” he said on the Today show.  

Opposition Peter Dutton said the Prime Minster should call the Chinese President. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Appleyard

“Because at some stage, there’s going to be a miscalculation and an Australian Defence Force member is going to lose their life. 

“And that is a tragic circumstance that has to be avoided at all costs.” 

On Monday, Mr Marles said Australia had formally expressed its concerns about the incident to the Chinese Government.

“It is our expectation in the interaction of our two militaries is that they happen in a manner which is professional and safe for all concerned,” he said.

Mr Marles said Australia had been part of the operation enforcing sanctions on North Korea for six years.

“The Australian Defence Force is engaged in important work enforcing UN Security Council sanctions and in doing that work we were operating on the high seas in accordance with international law and in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he said.

“We expect that when we have interactions with other militaries, including with the Chinese military, that those interactions are professional and safe.

Hobart Class Destroyer HMAS Hobart.

Coalition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie condemned the “provocative and dangerous” actions of China’s military, saying it built on a “pattern of aggressive behaviour” toward the ADF.

“We are relieved that no ADF personnel were injured by this reckless, dangerous and foolish move. It does not build trust between our nations,” he said.

“The Coalition calls on Richard Marles to stand up for our ADF personnel and raise this incident directly with his Chinese counterpart.”

Coalition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson described China’s actions as an “extremely dangerous coercive step”.

“This should not be allowed to happen and the Australian Government must be incredibly robust in our response,” he said.

Mr Paterson accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of abrogating his responsibility in the wake of a previous incident involving the Chinese and Australian military by failing to raise the issue directly with China’s President Xi Jinping.

Mr Xi has been invited to Australia and was expected to visit this year after Mr Albanese travelled to China last year as part of ongoing efforts to improve relations with Beijing.

A J-10 Chinese Air Force plane.

In a statement a spokesman for the ADF said the release of flares into the flight path of the Seahawk helicopter was “unsafe” and posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel.

“While there were no injuries sustained by ADF personnel or damaged caused to the MH-60R helicopter, the safety and wellbeing of our ADF personnel continues to be our utmost priority,” the statement.

“Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a professional and safe manner.”

Australia previously expressed its concern to Beijing about another incident in the South China Sea in November last year.

Several divers with the Royal Australian Navy suffered injuries during an incident involving a Chinese warship in international waters, inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

HMAS Toowoomba was operating in the South China Sea when a People’s Liberation Army-navy destroy approached and despite communications from the Australian side activated its sonar, forcing the navy divers to exit the water.

The divers sustained minor injuries in the incident, which Mr Marles described at the time as “unsafe and unprofessional”.

Originally published as ADF helicopter forced to take evasive action after Chinese fighter jet fired flares at close range