<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>China has accused Australia of "severely infringing" on its sovereignty, hitting back at claims of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/china-air-force-flares-australian-aircraft-south-china-sea/79b84abf-18f4-44c0-9993-0596759faf8d" rel="" target="" title="&quot;unsafe and unprofessional&quot; behaviour during an encounter between the two countries' air forces"><span>"unsafe and unprofessional" behaviour during an encounter between the two countries' air forces</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yesterday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said a Chinese aircraft had released flares dangerously close to an Australian surveillance plane over the South China Sea.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While no one was injured in the incident, the ADF said the manoeuvre "posed a risk to the aircraft and its personnel".</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/opposition-leader-sussan-ley-says-kevin-rudd-position-is-untenable-after-donald-trump-meeting/b8051ec4-1491-4ca8-a4ba-e9cbe26285f7"><strong><span>PM urged to 'back him or sack him' after Rudd's icy Trump exchange</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, Beijing has since hit back at the criticism of its behaviour, claiming instead that the RAAF surveillance aircraft had "illegally" entered Chinese airspace over the Paracel, or Xisha, Islands without permission.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Australia's actions seriously infringe upon China's sovereignty and are highly likely to lead to maritime and air incidents," Chinese Senior Colonel Li Jianjian said in a statement. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We urge Australia to immediately cease its infringing and provocative actions."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/china-criticism-australia-south-china-sea-air-force-encounter/5a871926-a616-4268-a7e4-ee357da1f7b5" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Beijing claims the entire South China Sea as its own territory despite an international tribunal in 2016 ruling against any legal basis to its claim of the region.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Paracel Islands, while controlled by China, are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Asked about the incident this afternoon, Marles reiterated that the Australian plane had been legally patrolling international airspace.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"[It] was a routine maritime surveillance patrol that happened in international airspace above international waters," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/michael-simon-wilson-accused-child-abuser-fails-in-secrecy-bid/331d8b27-0c04-4e59-8dbd-b7f4ba14a005"><strong><span>Man accused of bestiality and child abuse fails in bid to keep case secret</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Every moment, our crew was adhering to international law, let me be really clear about that…</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What occurred on two occasions with the release of those flares being as close as they were, were unsafe and unprofessional."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While tensions between the two countries flared earlier this year over a similar incident when a Chinese aircraft dropped flares within 30 metres of an Australian plane, also in the South China Sea, Marles said most encounters in the region occurred without issue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/treasury-cash-mandate-draft-regulation/2d1e8d3f-3bb6-4e81-bb9e-4724c4c0f90b"><strong><span>Treasury's draft cash mandate on essential goods a 'series of loopholes', advocate says</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There are a lot of interactions between the military of Australia and of China in places like the South China Sea, and the vast majority of those are safe and professional," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But where there are occurrences which are unsafe and unprofessional, we walk through a process and a procedure and we absolutely stick to that."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The timing of the encounter is unlikely to have been a coincidence, coming shortly before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's meeting with US President Donald Trump, where a critical minerals deal was signed and the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact given further backing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both developments came with China firmly in mind – the former looking to help the US get around Beijing's dominance of the crucial rare earths market (and the restrictions it has recently introduced), and the latter improving Australia and the US's defence presence in the Indo-Pacific region.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the 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