Australia has raised concerns with China over what it said on Thursday were "unsafe and unprofessional" actions by a Chinese fighter jet towards an Australian maritime patrol in the South China Sea two days earlier,

Australia has raised concerns with China over what it said was “unsafe and unprofessional” actions by a Chinese fighter jet towards an Australian maritime patrol in the South China Sea on Tuesday. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was conducting a routine surveillance patrol in international waters in the South China Sea when a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet released flares within 100 feet of the

Beijing swiftly hit back, accusing the Australian plane of "violating Chinese sovereignty and endangering Chinese national security".

Australia has protested what it describes as an unsafe and unprofessional interaction over the South China Sea where a Chinese fighter is accused of releasing flares that endangered an Australian military surveillance plane.

Canberra criticised the ‘unsafe and unprofessional’ manoeuvre that posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel.