China warns of ‘serious consequences’ after RAAF incident

Beijing warns of ‘serious consequences’ for Australian aircraft, as it escalates a serious mid-air incident in the South China Sea.

A Chinese J-16 jet fighter. Picture: Supplied

Beijing has warned of “serious consequences” for Australian aircraft that fail to respect its sovereignty, claiming an RAAF jet intercepted by one of its fighters last month had approached the disputed Paracel Islands, which it claims as its own.

China’s Defence Ministry said the Australian P-8A Poseidon, which was aggressively challenged by a Chinese J-16 fighter in the South China Sea, had “continuously approached China’s Xisha airspace despite repeated warnings”.

“Xisha” is the Chinese name for the Paracels, which it insists are Chinese territory but are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

The Chinese statement – two days after Defence Minister Richard Marles vowed to continue surveillance flights in the region – is the first indication of the location of the mid-air incident, in which the J-16 fired flares and “chaff countermeasures’’ in close proximity to the P-8.

The latest Chinese warning over the May 26 incident came as Anthony Albanese expressed concern at reports that a Chinese naval base being built in Cambodia will host PLA navy vessels in the Gulf of Thailand, just 500 km from Peninsula Malaysia.

Both Beijing and Phnom Penh have long denied the new facility, being built on the northern portion of Cambodia’s Ream naval base, would host Chinese military vessels, but the Washington Post on Tuesday cited a Chinese official in Beijing confirming that a “portion of the base” will be used by the Chinese military.

The largest island in Paracels archipelago, Woody Island, is home to a Chinese air base.

Mr Marles has made it clear that the Australian jet was in international airspace and “operating completely within our rights in international law”.

But Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei claimed the J-16’s conduct was reasonable and within the law, and warned Australian aircraft would face “serious consequences” for such behaviour in the future.

“An Australian P-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft entered the airspace near China’s Xisha for close reconnaissance and continuously approached China’s Xisha airspace despite repeated warnings from the Chinese side,” Mr Tan said, in a Chinese-language statement posted on the department’s website.

“The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command organised air and sea forces to identify and verify the Australian military aircraft and warned it to drive away.

“The Australian military aircraft seriously threatened China’s sovereignty and security, and the response measures taken by the Chinese military were professional, safe, reasonable and legal.”

Mr Tan accused Australia of “repeatedly disseminating false information” and “creating confrontation” in relation to the incident.

“We also solemnly inform the Australian side to immediately stop similar dangerous and provocative acts and strictly restrain the actions of its air and sea forces, otherwise it will bear all the serious consequences arising from them,” he said.

The warning came after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman declared China would “never allow any country to violate China’s sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation”.

Australia has lodged furious protests with Beijing over the incident, which the Prime Minister described as a “dangerous manoeuvre” which threatened the safety of the P-8 and its crew.

Dr Euan Graham, who heads the Asia Security Program at Singapore’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the RAAF would have stayed more than 12 nautical miles from any South China Sea islands “regardless of who owns them”.

“From the Australian statement, it definitely says the Australian aircraft was operating in international airspace.

“China is breaching international law by unsafely intercepting aircraft in international airspace.”

Mr Albanese told reporters on Tuesday during his trip to Indonesia that reports of a Chinese military base in Cambodia were “concerning”.

“We are in regular contact with the Cambodian government and we have been consistently assured that no foreign military will be granted exclusive access at Ream,” he said.

“We’ve been aware of Beijing’s activity at Ream for some time and we encourage Beijing to be transparent about its intent and to ensure its activities support regional security and stability.”

Western officials and analysts have warned a Chinese military base at Ream, only its second foreign military outpost after one in Djibouti, East Africa, would strengthen Beijing’s presence near key Southeast Asian sea lanes and help expand its influence in the region.

Beijing was counting on regional neighbours being “unwilling or unable to challenge China’s core interests” and aimed to become “so powerful that the region will give in to China’s leadership rather than face the consequences (for not doing so,” one official told the Post.

The latest claim comes weeks after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands containing several ambiguous provisions that Canberra fears could open the door to Beijing building a military base just 2000km from the Australian mainland.

“They already have several bases across the South China Sea, including some on artificial islands that are bigger than Pearl Harbour,” Dr Graham said.

“It’s much less ambitious than a Solomon Islands base would be. If I was Malaysia I would certainly be taking note, but it’s not a game changer.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: HEIDI HAN