PLA warns away Australian spy plane for close airspace trespass in China’s Xisha

A J-16 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command gets ready to take off from the runway during an aerial combat training exercise under complex electromagnetic conditions in early April, 2021.(Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn)

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warned away an Australian spy plane when it recently attempted to trespass into Chinese airspace of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea for close-in reconnaissance, the Chinese Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, debunking Australia’s claim that a PLA warplane intercepted the Australian aircraft and threatened the safety of its crew.

The PLA Southern Theater Command organized maritime and aerial forces to identify and warn away an Australian P-8A ASW aircraft, when it repeatedly approached the Chinese airspace of the Xisha Islands for a close-in reconnaissance on May 26 despite repeated warning from the Chinese forces, Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson at China’s Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Australian warplane severely threatened China’s sovereign security, and the Chinese military’s countermeasures were professional, safe, reasonable and legitimate, Tan said.

Australia is calling white black, keeping on spreading false information and hyping confrontation, Tan said. “China strongly opposes this.”

Tan’s remarks came after Australia's Defense Ministry said in a press release on Sunday that a P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force wasintercepted by a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraftduring a routine maritime surveillance activity in the South China Sea on May 26, claiming the spy plane was flying in international airspace.

The interception resulted in a dangerous maneuver that posed a safety threat to the P-8 aircraft and its crew, the Australian press release claimed.

China has sternly warned Australia to stop similar dangerous provocative moves at once and to restrict the actions of its maritime and aerial forces, or it shall bear serious consequences, Tan said.

In the May 26 event, the Chinese plane released flares while flying closely alongside the Australian plane, before cutting in front of the P-8 and releasing a bag of "chaff" into its flight path, which included aluminum fragments that were sucked into the engine of the Australian plane, Australia's ABC News reported.