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PLA warns away Australian P-8A warplane intruding into China's territorial airspace over Xisha with powerful countermeasures: military spokesperson

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun and Liang Rui Published: Oct 20, 2025 05:48 PM

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command on Sunday warned away an Australian P-8A military aircraft intruding into China's territorial airspace over Xisha Qundao in the South China Sea, a military spokesperson said on Monday. With the Australian side hyping the Chinese move as "unsafe and unprofessional," a Chinese military affairs expert said that Australia is shifting the blame, with the Australian side being the one that sent a warplane over Chinese airspace.

An Australian P-8A aircraft on Sunday intruded into China's territorial airspace over the Xisha Qundao without the approval of the Chinese government, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to track and monitor the Australian aircraft, take powerful countermeasures and warn it away in accordance with laws and regulations, Senior Colonel Li Jianjian, spokesperson for the air force of the PLA Southern Theater Command, said in a statement on Monday.

The Australian move seriously violated China's sovereignty and could have easily triggered maritime and aerial accidents, Li said.

"We urge the Australian side to immediately stop such provocative moves. The troops in the theater are on high alert at all times to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the region," the spokesperson said.

Li's remarks came after the Australian side hyped up the incident.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft conducting a maritime surveillance patrol in the South China Sea experienced an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with a PLA Air Force Su-35 fighter aircraft on Sunday, the Australian defense ministry claimed in a statement released on its website on Monday.

The Australian statement further claimed that the PLA Air Force aircraft released flares in close proximity to the RAAF P-8A aircraft, accusing the move as an "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver that posed a risk to the aircraft and its personnel," but admitted that no injuries were sustained by Australian Defense Force (ADF) personnel nor was damage caused to the RAAF P-8A.

This is not the first time that Australia has made an accusation like this. Another similar case took place in earlier this year in February.

In response to Australia's accusation of a Chinese fighter jet's unsafe conduct in the South China Sea, dropping flares near an Australian air force plane on February 13, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference at the time that the Australian military airplane deliberately intruded into China's airspace over Xisha Qundao without China's permission. The move violated China's sovereignty and undermined China's national security. The Chinese side took legitimate, lawful, professional and restrained measures to expel the airplane.

China lodged serious protests with Australia and urged it to stop infringing on China's sovereignty and making provocations and stop disrupting peace and stability in the South China Sea, Guo said at the time.

Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Monday that the Australian military aircraft came all the way to China's doorstep and even intruded into China's territorial airspace to conduct a maritime surveillance patrol, a move that undermined China's security.

It is totally legitimate for the PLA to take proper measures, including tracking, monitoring and expelling, Wang said.

By hyping up the Australian military aircraft's so-called "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction with the PLA Air Force, the Australian side is shifting the blame to the victim, Wang said.

Zhuo Hua, an international affairs expert at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times that it is not the first time that Australia has sent military aircraft to intrude into China's airspace over the Xisha Qundao. This has become a "standardized" procedure of provocation, calculated mischief, and smear campaigns, serving as a common tactic for Australia to participate in the military containment and suppression against China.

Australia not only conducted military reconnaissance targeting the movements of China's surface and underwater vessels, it also deliberately obscured its operational airspace in public discourse, using so-called "maritime surveillance patrol" to mislead the international community. After encountering rights protection actions of the PLA, it distorted the truth to fabricate an image of being the victim and the innocent party, thereby undermining the international moral foundation of China's sovereign boundaries in the South China Sea, and damaging and harming China's image, sovereign interests, and military security, Zhuo said.

Zhuo said that Australia's repeated provocations actually highlight its diplomatic dilemmas and frustrations. Australia shares a broad foundation of common interests with China. However, as a staunch ally of the US, it also exhibits a strong dependency inertia toward the it and faces practical "ally obligations." This makes it difficult for Australia to break free from the overarching US strategic competition track with China, compelling it to periodically demonstrate loyalty to the US through such blustering tactics.

Chinese military affairs expert Zhang Junshe told the Global Times that Australia dispatched military aircraft from afar to intrude into Chinese airspace for reconnaissance. On one hand, this aims to align with the US "Indo-Pacific" strategy, demonstrate loyalty to the US, and willingly act as a pawn of Washington, thereby stirring international public opinion to contain China. On the other hand, it also seeks to assert its presence by provoking China.

However, the PLA possesses sufficient naval and air capabilities to safeguard national territorial security and maritime rights and interests. Perhaps the next time Australia engages in such "calculated mischief," it might encounter the J-20, Zhang said.

Zhang said that the term "powerful countermeasures" used by the spokesperson of the Southern Theater Command Air Force in the statement is a highly uncommon formulation. It is hoped that Australia will correctly interpret the PLA's statement, comprehend its warnings and expulsion measures, and refrain from repeatedly engaging in deliberate "calculated provocations."