The Australian government is urgently seeking a response from Beijing after it was revealed a Chinese fighter jet had engaged in an “unsafe and unprofessional” act against a Royal Australian Air Force plane in the South China Sea.

On Monday afternoon the government made public its “concerns” to the Chinese government after an “unsafe and unprofessional” interaction occurred between a People’s Liberation Army-Air Force (PLA-AF) aircraft and a RAAF plane.

The Department of Defence confirmed in a statement that on Sunday afternoon a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was conducting a routine maritime surveillance over international waters near the South China Sea before experiencing an "unsafe" interaction with a Chinese fighter aircraft.

Richard Marle

See Full Page