Adelaide-based RAAF P-8A Poseidon buzzed by a Chinese strike fighter over South China Sea
A surveillance aircraft based in Adelaide has been the subject of a chilling act of intimidation by a Chinese strike fighter.
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A Chinese fighter jet has deployed a cloud of metal fragments that was sucked into the engine of an Adelaide-based surveillance aircraft, in a chilling act of aggression over international waters.
The Shenyang J-16, a tandem-seat strike fighter with twin jets, flew dangerously close alongside the RAAF P-8A Poseidon aircraft while it was conducting a routine surveillance mission above the South China Sea on May 26.
Revealing the dramatic incident on Sunday, new Defence Minister Richard Marles said the Chinese jet then accelerated to “cut across the nose” of the Poseidon.
It settled in front of the Australian aircraft at “very close distance” before releasing flares and a bundle of chaff – a cloud of aluminium that is designed to distract radar-guided missiles.
Mr Marles said some of the material was sucked into the Poseidon’s engine, but the crew was unharmed.
“Quite obviously this is very dangerous,” he said.
“The crew of the P8 responded professionally, and in a manner that would make us all feel proud; they returned the aircraft to its base.”
Mr Marles’s office would not say which base the aircraft returned to, but the fleet of 12 P-8A Poseidon aircraft is permanently housed at RAAF Edinburgh, in Adelaide’s north.
Chief of Defence General Angus Campbell has officially remonstrated with Beijing authorities over the incident, which Mr Marles said placed the Australian crew in “jeopardy”.
“What we are seeing from China in relation to the South China Sea is an assertion of sovereignty on its part, which is inconsistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Mr Marles said.
The Defence Minister would not reveal exactly where the aircraft was flying, but said “we were operating completely within our rights and international law”.
“I want to stress that the activity of the P8 form part of maritime surveillance activity, which has been undertaken by Australia in the South China Sea for decades,” Mr Marles said.
“This incident will not deter Australia from continuing to engage in these activities.”
Marcus Hellyer, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the incident, happening mere days after Labor took office, showed a continuation of the People’s Liberation Army’s practice of “grey-zone” provocations, such as the lasering of another P-8A Poseidon mid-flight in February.
“While it’s highly unlikely that ingesting chaff would cause an engine to fail, ejecting anything into the path of another aircraft is very poor practice and extremely irresponsible,” Dr Hellyer said.
The revelation of the incident came on the same day Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed in Jakarta to reset relations with Indonesia.
It also marked the crescendo of a subtle diplomatic joust between Australia and China, as Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi leapfrogged each other across Pacific island nations.
Senator Wong and Trade Minister Don Farrell joined the Prime Minister in Jakarta to help boost trade and investment deals with Australia’s largest neighbour.
Australia uses the disputed South China Sea as a key trade route, where China is becoming increasingly aggressive as it attempts to claim the waters as their own.
Mr Albanese said “we are all concerned” about the May 26 incident and it was “not safe”.
“We have strategic competition in the region. What we need to do is to make sure that we have competition, recognise that it’s there, without catastrophe,” he said.
gabriel.polychronis@news.com.au
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Originally published as Adelaide-based RAAF P-8A Poseidon buzzed by a Chinese strike fighter over South China Sea
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