Australians Fly East And South Now

 Here is some old news from May 2022. An Australian P8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft flew over disputed Chinese airspace in the South China Sea. It must be noted that Australia has absolutely no claims anywhere in the South China Sea. (Plus the Islamic State terrorists - which the Australians claimed to be "monitoring" are mostly semi-literate villagers tending to their fishing nets in the Sulu Sea, far away from the South China Sea).

The Australians just wanted to provoke the Chinese and add more tensions to the situation in the South China Sea.

In no time the Chinese sent a J16 fighter aircraft (from the Paracel Islands??) to intercept the P8 Poseidon. The Chinese J16 issued repeated warnings to the Australian P8 to leave the area. Including releasing flares. Finally when the P8 aircraft did not budge the Chinese J16 released chaff or aluminium flakes (a decoy to deflect enemy radar)  in the path of the P8 (which is a Boeing 737). 

Some of the aluminium chaff was sucked into the engines of the P8 causing damage and to lose power. The P8 immediately returned to Clarke airbase in Manila where its patrol had begun.

Above : China's Shenyang J16 heavy fighter, based on Russian Sukhoi Su-27
Below : P8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft (American Boeing 737)

 

Chinese interception of P-8A Poseidon on 26 May 2022

• 26 May 2022, RAAF P-8 aircraft intercepted by Chinese J-16 in South China Sea
• dangerous manoeuvre threat to P-8 aircraft and crew
• Australia will not be commenting further on this matter
• The J16 “flew very close" and then “released flares”
• “released chaff (aluminum flakes) which were ingested into P8 engine 

 

My Comments : Although more than a year old now the incident is just a continuing series of provocations by the US, UK, Canada and Australia against China in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Straits. The latest happened in early June this year when two American and Canadian ships sailed through the narrow Taiwan Straits between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The Chinese Navy intercepted them and cut them off. On May 26 this year a Chinese jet had to chase away an American aircraft which again encroached on disputed territory.

The point to note is that in these instances of "provocative behaviour", rarely are the littoral states involved (the other countries bordering the South China Sea or the Taiwan Straits). 

The Taiwanese do not sail their naval ships provocatively to encroach on Chinese territory.  The Vietnamese who also claim the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, (where that Australian P8 Poseidon was flying)  do not fly patrols that encroach into Chinese disputed territory (although there are plenty of "face offs" between the Viet Navy and Chinese fishing boats in the area). 

The ASEAN and other states around the South China Sea have far larger urgency in facing China in the South China Sea yet there are few of such provocative 'encounters' which can escalate into something bigger and completely unwanted. 

 

I really cannot fathom why Australia would be present in the South China Sea or Canada would sail a warship between China and Taiwan.   

After that incident in May last year the Australians have stayed clear of the disputed area and returned to flying east and south over the Philippines monitoring semi literate villagers casting their fishing nets - something in which the Aussies and Americans have much prowess.

The Chinese should just 'scuttle' one of the Royal Navy's more problematic ships - it would really calm things down everywhere. Plus save the British people a ton of money.

  £3billion HMS Prince of Fails - not operational and does not 

carry any aircraft since launch in 2017

 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.