Pilots operate a JL-10 advance trainer jet of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China September 28, 2021.
Pilots operate a JL-10 advance trainer jet of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China September 28, 2021.

Australia's helicopter was conducting a normal patrol in international waters when Canberra claimed that a Chinese fighter plane had dropped flares close to it. Foreign Minister Richard Marles referred to the risky move as unacceptable and unprofessional.

The close call happened on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (AEST time) close to the Yellow Sea while the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart was implementing sanctions against North Korea by the UN Security Council, ABC reported.

A Chinese Chengdu J-10 fighter plane and an Australian Navy Seahawk helicopter on patrol came into a potentially hazardous scenario. The Chinese plane fired flares close to the Seahawk, 60 meters (197 feet) above the Australian aircraft and 300 meters (986 feet) in front of it, Defense Minister Richard Marles told 9 News.

"This was an incident which was both unsafe and unprofessional," Marles told Nine News television.

"The PLA Air Force plane dropped flares about 300 metres in front of the Seahawk helicopter about 60 metres above it, requiring the helicopter to take evasive action in order to not be hit by those flares," Marles told 9News.

There were no reports or injuries.

"Now Australians are engaging in important work enforcing UN Security Council sanctions and in doing that work, we're operating on the high seas in accordance with international law in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," Marles

"And we expect that when we have interactions with other militaries, including with the Chinese military that those interactions are professional, and safe. This incident was completely unacceptable.

"We have expressed our concerns to the Chinese government formally about this incident. HMAS Hobart continues in its work in enforcing those UN Security Council sanctions."

Tensions between the two countries have significantly increased as a result of this event. It comes after an earlier incident in November 2023 in which Australia said a Chinese vessel had failed to keep a safe distance from an Australian frigate and had injured divers with sonar pulses.

Australian officials have formally communicated their concerns to the Chinese authorities; however, they haven't gotten a response yet.