China has accused Australia of "severely infringing" on its sovereignty, hitting back at claims of "unsafe and unprofessional" behaviour during an encounter between the two countries' air forces .

Yesterday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said a Chinese aircraft had released flares dangerously close to an Australian surveillance plane over the South China Sea.

While no one was injured in the incident, the ADF said the manoeuvre "posed a risk to the aircraft and its personnel".

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.

"Australia's actions seriously infringe upon China's sovereignty and are highly likely

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