South China Sea: China slams Australian military plane for ‘intruding’ into its airspace
Accusation comes after Australia says a Chinese military jet conducted ‘unsafe’ manoeuvres over international waters
The Chinese foreign ministry said China expelled the Australian plane after it “deliberately intruded into the airspace of China’s Paracel Islands without China’s permission and violated China’s sovereignty” on Tuesday.
China has made “solemn representations” to Australia on the matter “demanding Australia to stop infringing its rights, provoking [China], and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea”, ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
Defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang added on Friday that Canberra should “abandon its fantasy of speculation and gambling” which would “stir up trouble in the South China Sea and harm others and itself”.
Australia should “strictly restrain the actions of its frontline naval and air forces, and not be willing to act as a follower and thug”, he said
Beijing claims the Paracel Islands – known as the Xisha Islands in China – as its own, along with other key islands in the resource-rich waters. The archipelago is controlled by China but is also claimed by Vietnam.
The foreign ministry’s comments came on the same day that Australia’s Department of Defence accused a Chinese J-16 fighter jet of undertaking “unsafe and unprofessional” actions towards an Australian maritime surveillance plane in the disputed waters.
