Beijing says chopper ‘provocation’ at fault
Beijing accuses Australian forces of provoking one of its fighter jets as Joe Biden’s top diplomat in East Asia warns Chinese military’s increasingly aggression could cost lives or ‘worse’.
Beijing has accused an Australian Seahawk helicopter of provoking a Chinese fighter jet that dropped flares in front of it, claiming it “deliberately approached China’s airspace”.
The Chinese foreign ministry levelled the allegation late on Tuesday, saying the jet had taken “necessary” steps and acted in a “professional and safe” manner during the Yellow Sea encounter on Saturday.
But an Australian official said the helicopter and the ship it was flown from were operating well outside China’s contiguous zone, in which Beijing can legally prevent intrusions.
Anthony Albanese vowed to protest the “unprofessional and unacceptable” conduct with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the official’s visit to Australia next month.
“Australian Defence Force personnel were going about their job,” the Prime Minister said. “That is part of Australia being good global citizens, and Australian Defence Force personnel should not be at risk whilst they’re doing that.”
But Peter Dutton urged Mr Albanese to go further, telling him to “pick the phone up” and express the nation’s “disgust” directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“They have put Australian lives at risk and that is completely unacceptable,” the Opposition Leader said.
The Chinese jet dropped flares about 60m above and 300m in front of the helicopter, which was policing sanctions against North Korea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: “The truth is that Australia’s warships and aircraft deliberately approached China’s airspace under the guise of implementing United Nations Security Council resolutions, causing trouble and provocation, endangering China’s maritime and air security.
“For the purpose of warning and reminder, the Chinese military has taken necessary disposal measures on site, and the relevant operations are legal, compliant, and professional and safe.”
Amid the growing fallout from the incident, Joe Biden’s top diplomat for East Asia warned the Chinese military’s increasingly aggressive conduct in international waters could cost lives or “worse”.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said the jet’s action, which forced the helicopter to take evasive action, was part of a pattern of “aggressive and assertive” behaviour by China’s military that “deeply concerned” the White House.
Mr Kritenbrink, in Australia for talks with senior officials, said he feared future incidents could be fatal and potentially spark a military confrontation.
“If you look at the last several years, you see, in general, China’s inclination to be more aggressive in its operations on the periphery of China,” he said.
“This dangerous behaviour can lead to an accident and worse, and we don’t want to see that.”
The incident occurred about 7.30pm AEST on Saturday, a day after Defence Minister Richard Marles vowed to ramp up joint naval operations with partners in the South China Sea to challenge Beijing’s disputed claim to the waterway.
Mr Kritenbrink said: “I think in many instances the PRC is also selective in the way that it decides to respond to different situations and different militaries, depending on a particular context or timing.”
He said the close call underscored the need for the US and its partners to assert every country’s right “to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows”.
“I think it highlights all the more … why we need to continue to operate in accordance with international law and speak out when we see violations of that,” Mr Kritenbrink said.
Former Defence official Michael Shoebridge said such dangerous incidents were part of a pattern of behaviour that could “only be directed by the highest level in Beijing”.
“So, ending this trail of dangerous Chinese aggression won’t come from careful diplomatic representations through normal channels,” he said. “There has to be direct discussion with Xi Jinping from other national leaders … Anthony Albanese now has a direct leader-to-leader relationship with Xi from his two meetings with him late last year.”
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