Chinese warplane fired flares, put Australian Navy helicopter in danger, Canberra says

Seoul, South Korea CNN —

Australia has accused a Chinese fighter jet of firing flares into the path of a naval helicopter last weekend over international waters of the Yellow Sea, an action that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blasted as “completely unacceptable.”

The Australian MH-60R Seahawk helicopter was on patrol enforcing United Nations sanctions on North Korea at the time of the incident, the Defense Ministry in Canberra said, adding the move put the lives of the helicopter crew in danger.

“This was an unsafe maneuver which posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel,” the statement from Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said.

The Chinese jet “dropped flares about 300 meters (984 feet) in front of the Seahawk helicopter and about 60 meters (197 feet) above it,” Marles said in an interview with 9 News on Monday.

No damage or injuries were reported, but flares can lead to the downing of a helicopter if they strike and damage its rotor blades, or if they are ingested into its engines.

The incident is the latest in a growing list of confrontations in international waters between China’s military and other nations, and it comes as Canberra and Beijing are pursuing a rapprochement following a bruising few years of trade disputes and strained relations.

The MH-60 Seahawk is a twin-engine helicopter and carries a crew of three, according to the Australian Navy.

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The Australian helicopter was operating from the destroyer HMAS Hobart in international waters of the Yellow Sea as part of Operation Argos, Canberra’s contribution to a multinational effort to enforce United Nations