Australia's Ministry of Defence claims that its navy was intercepted by a Chinese fighter plane while carrying out a mission in international waters a few days ago.
According to the Australian side's description, the incident occurred in the Yellow Sea, when the Australian warship "Holbat" was carrying out the sanctions imposed by the Security Council on North Korea, and then a Chinese J-10 fighter appeared on the flight path of the Australian Navy helicopter and threw a number of flares to intercept.
In order to evade flares, the Australian military helicopter took emergency evasive action, but the Australian Department of Defense also admitted that the incident did not cause casualties and did not cause any damage.
Chinese J-10 fighter
However, three days after the incident, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suddenly broke his silence and lodged a protest with the Chinese side. According to Singaporean media reports, Albanese said on May 7 that the Chinese fighter jet's firing of flares at the Australian side was "unsafe, unprofessional and unacceptable" and demanded an explanation from the Chinese side.
In November last year, Australia claimed that the Chinese navy had "used sonar pulses to injure" Australian divers during an encounter in international waters.
At that time, the Chinese side clearly refuted this claim, saying that the Chinese armed forces have always carried out professional operations in accordance with international law and practice, and hoped that the relevant parties would stop causing trouble at China's doorstep.
In fact, this points to the crux of the problem, that is, Australia's relevant actions are taking the initiative to stir up trouble, and China has taken professional and restrained actions out of consideration for safeguarding its sovereignty and security, and does not accept unwarranted slander and accusations from Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
The same is true of this incident, the Australian side claims that it is operating in "international waters," so why did it encounter a Chinese warplane? This can only show that the Australian military plane's range of activities has gone beyond a safe distance and is very close to China.
Or the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is carrying out military activities in the vicinity, and the Australian military aircraft is trying to get close and peep, so the Chinese side takes the necessary measures to drive them away.
A few days ago, the Dalian Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning, and from May 5 to 12, it will carry out military missions in the northern part of the Yellow Sea in the Bohai Strait. Then, on May 2, the Dalian Maritime Safety Administration issued another navigation warning, from May 6 to 8, a live-fire exercise will be carried out in some waters in the northern Yellow Sea, and the relevant waters are prohibited from sailing.
Under the circumstance that the PLA has already announced the tasks of military exercises and has drawn a forbidden area in advance, the appearance of foreign military aircraft and ships in the surrounding waters is naturally a matter worthy of high vigilance, so it is normal practice for Chinese fighters to come forward to reconnoiter the situation.
During the exercise, PLA fighters fired flares
Moreover, firing flares is also a relatively routine operation, used for night observation, not threatening, firing flares when encountering foreign aircraft, only indicating a warning meaning, aimed at informing the external aircraft that your location has been locked by our side, forcing the other party to stop military provocations.
On the whole, China's operation is still very professional and safe, and there is no problem, but it is the Australian side's sneaky whereabouts and always causing trouble on China's doorstep under the banner of implementing Security Council resolutions, and it is the party that should really explain to the outside world.
There is another point worth paying attention to in this matter, that is, the Security Council's DPRK-related sanctions resolution was promoted by the United States itself, and the United States is the most concerned about this matter.
However, military planes from Australia, Canada, and other countries have frequently appeared in the Yellow Sea, claiming to be implementing Security Council resolutions, and it is obvious that they are cooperating with the United States.
US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine agreement
In recent years, the United States has been touting the strategy of bloc confrontation to win over Australia, India, the Philippines and other countries surrounding China to join the "Indo-Pacific strategy" of the United States and participate in the containment of China.
This includes the "nuclear submarine" agreement between the United States, Britain and Australia, in which the United States provides nuclear technology, the United Kingdom helps build it, and Australia is responsible for providing funds.
However, judging from the actual situation, Australia, as a relatively independent continental country, has no external security threat at all, and has no territorial disputes with its neighbors, but it can't wait for the United States to help build nuclear submarines, which may involve Australia in unnecessary geopolitical conflicts.
China-Australia relations
Again, China has always acted in accordance with international law, and Australia should stop causing trouble at China's doorstep and work together to maintain the good momentum of China-Australia relations, which is the right choice in Australia's own interests.