Defence reveals a Chinese fighter deployed flares in dangerous proximity to an Australian Poseidon jet while it was conducting a routine patrol of the South China Sea on Tuesday.

Chinese aircraft accused of ‘releasing flares within 30 metres’ of Australian aircraft. China says expulsion measures legitimate as Australia ‘deliberately intruded’ into its airspace.

In other episodes, there was a “very dangerous” situation involving the RAAF and a Chinese fighter plane over the South China Sea in mid-2022, and in 2023 Australian naval divers were injured by a sonar device operated by a Chinese destroyer.