A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft encountered a People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) J-16 fighter jet over the South China Sea (SCS) on 11 February 2025.
The Australian government issued a statement two days later describing the interaction as “unsafe and unprofessional” on China’s part.
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It is said that the RAAF was conducting a routine maritime surveillance patrol in the region under its decades-long Operation Gateway – in which the service surveils the Northern Indian Ocean and the SCS – whereupon the Chinese jet released flares in close proximity to the patrol aircraft.
While no injuries were sustained, nor was any damage caused, the Australian Defence Forces stated that the PLAAF’s actions were “an unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre that posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel.”
The RAAF emphasised the legality of its actions and presence in the contentious region, which China largely claims, “exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace.”
AUKUS navies in the SCS
This was not the first time that such an incident occurred; neither will it be the last given China’s efforts in redrawing its maritime boundaries.
On 12 February, China’s Southern Theatre Command spokesperson, Tian Junli, complained that the Philippines has “repeatedly invited countries outside the region to organise so-called ‘joint patrols’.”
China added that it had conducted its own patrols in the SCS after AUKUS navies conducted a coordinated manoeuvring exercise between 6 and 7 February.
Participating units included the US Navy’s Flight I Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Benfold (DDG 65); the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer, HMAS Hobart (DDG 39); and a UK Royal Navy Batch II River-class offshore patrol vessel, HMS Spey (P234).
“Regular military engagements between the defence forces in the Indo-Pacific will help maintain regional security and stability” asserted Commodore Jonathan Ley, Joint Force Maritime Component Commander for Australia’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command.
The three warships exercised their ability to exchange data using tactical datalink systems, while the manoevring exercise trained the crews’ ability to sail alongside each other in various conditions.
J-16 combat aircraft
According to the China Aerospace Studies Institute, the PLAAF has been prioritising the development and acquisition of long-range offensive strike capabilities. Besides the continued modernisation of H-6 bombers to fly further and delive rlonger-range cruise missiles, it involves fielding more multi-role, cruise-missile capable 4.5 generation aircraft like the J-10C and J-16.
These two J-class fighters employ Chinese manufactured weapons such as the PL-10 and PL-15, which boast a farther range than their American counterparts: the AIM-9X and AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM).
Notably, the J-16, and China’s imported Russian Su-35, can carry the PL-17, an even longer-range radar-guided air-to-air missile, which is intended to shoot down tankers and Airborne Warning and Control aircraft, of a similar nature to the Australian Poseidon.
