(MENAFN) Australia has lodged a formal protest with Beijing after a Chinese military aircraft reportedly released flares dangerously close to an Australian patrol plane over the South China Sea on Sunday. The Australian Defence Force described the incident as “unsafe and unprofessional,” emphasizing that no damage occurred and all personnel aboard the P-8A aircraft remained unharmed.

“Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner,” the Defence Force said in a statement on Monday. A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, when asked about the incident, said they were unaware of it.

The encounter adds to a growing list of tense military interactions between the two nations in the region. China claims extensive territorial rights over islands and maritime features in the South China Sea, overlapping with claims from several neighbouring countries. Although Australia does not assert claims in the area, it has consistently aligned with the United States and its allies in rejecting China’s assertions as having no legal basis.

Sunday’s incident occurred as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese traveled to the United States to meet President Donald Trump, with discussions expected to cover the Aukus submarine program—a multibillion-dollar trilateral defence initiative between Australia, the US, and the UK.

This is not the first such episode. In February, Australia accused a Chinese jet of dropping flares near an Australian aircraft, which Beijing said was a lawful response to what it described as an intrusion into its airspace. In May 2024, Canberra reported another flare-dropping incident, this time involving an Australian navy helicopter on a UN Security Council mission over the Yellow Sea near Korea. Additionally, in November 2023, Australia accused China’s navy of deploying sonar pulses in international waters off Japan, resulting in injuries to Australian divers.

These recurring incidents underscore ongoing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, highlighting the risks of military encounters in contested waters and airspace as strategic rivalries intensify.

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