Beijing has hit back at Canberra after Australia demanded answers as to why a Chinese warplane dropped flares on a Royal Australian Air Force surveillance aircraft.

In a tense and potentially dangerous encounter in the South China Sea, a Chinese fighter jet came dangerously close to an Australian military plane. The incident, described by Australian Defence officials as “unsafe and unprofessional,

No one was injured and there was no damage to Australia's P-8A surveillance jet after Tuesday's incident, the ministry said. But China said the Australian aircraft "intentionally intruded" into its airspace and that the Chinese fighter jet responded in a "legitimate,

Australia protested Thursday what it described as an unsafe and unprofessional interaction over the South China Sea where a Chinese fighter is accused of releasing flares that endangered an Australian military surveillance plane.

Accusation comes after Australia says a Chinese military jet conducted ‘unsafe’ manoeuvres over international waters.

Australia has raised concerns with China over what it said was “unsafe and unprofessional” actions by a Chinese fighter jet towards an Australian maritime patrol in the South China Sea on Tuesday. (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was conducting a routine surveillance patrol in international waters in the South China Sea when a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet released flares within 100 feet of the RAAF aircraft,