Chinanews.com, February 21. According to the "Ministry of Defense released" WeChat public account, the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense Tan Kefei pointed out when answering a reporter's question about the encounter between the Chinese and Australian warplanes that the Chinese warships always Maintain safe, regulated and professional operations consistent with relevant international law and practice.
When asked by a reporter, the Australian Ministry of Defense issued a statement on February 19 saying that a Chinese naval vessel used lasers to irradiate an Australian anti-submarine patrol aircraft flying in the northern airspace of Australia on the 17th, and accused China of unsafe and unprofessional operations. , posing a huge security threat to Australian Defence Force soldiers.
Does the spokesperson have any comment on this?
Tan Kefei said that the relevant content of the Australian statement is completely inconsistent with the facts.
On February 17, the Australian P-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft arrived in the airspace surrounding our ship formation, and the nearest distance to our ship was only 4 kilometers.
During the entire encounter with the Australian military aircraft, the Chinese warships always maintained safe, standardized and professional operations, in line with relevant international law and practice.
Australian P-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft harassed our ship and surveillance
Australian P-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft placed sonar buoys in the waters near our ship
It can be seen from the photos taken by our ship that the Australian aircraft is very close to our ship, and sonar buoys are also placed around our ship.
Such malicious and provocative actions can easily lead to misunderstandings and misjudgments, posing a threat to the safety of ships, aircraft and personnel of both sides.
At the same time, the Australian side also deliberately spread false information and made false accusations against China.
We express our firm opposition to the above-mentioned actions by the Australian side, and we demand that the Australian side immediately stop such provocative and dangerous actions, and stop making groundless accusations and smears against China, so as not to affect the overall relationship between the two countries and the two militaries.