#Index #Chinese #warplane #tension #Beijing #Canberra
A Chinese warplane fired infrared traps to deflect missiles dangerously close to an Australian military helicopter over the South China Sea, MTI said. According to Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, the incident took place over international waters on Saturday afternoon. The minister called the behavior of the Chinese pilots dangerous and unprofessional.
According to the report, a Chinese plane at a distance of about three hundred meters and in a higher position fired flash charges at the Seahawk type helicopter. Australian pilots on routine patrol had to dodge the flash charges, as collision with them would have been fatal to the helicopter crew.
The Canberra leadership has officially expressed its concerns to the Chinese leadership.
This incident is completely unacceptable
Richard Marles emphasized.
The helicopter took off from the Australian destroyer Hobart, which is participating in the UN mission code-named Argos in the South China Sea. The purpose of the mission is to prevent products subject to international sanctions from reaching North Korea by sea.
China claims almost all of the strategically important South China Sea, rich in energy resources and fish, but the Philippines – like Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei – also claims certain areas. Because of this, incidents often occur between rival countries in the region.
This is not the first such incident between the two countries. Two years ago, the Australian government accused Beijing that Chinese pilots disrupted the flight of an Australian P-8 reconnaissance aircraft with a dangerous aerial maneuver.
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