Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Tan Kefei’s Remarks on Australia’s hype about Chinese military planes “interfering” with Australian military planes
Reporter: The Australian Ministry of Defence recently issued a statement saying that the Australian military plane was intercepted by a Chinese military plane while performing a reconnaissance mission in the airspace of the South China Sea on May 26, threatening the safety of the Australian military plane and its personnel. what opinions do the Chinese have on this issue?
Tan Kefei: On May 26, an Australian P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft entered the airspace near Xisha, China, and approached the airspace near Xisha, China. It ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese side and continued to approach the airspace of Xisha, China. The Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized naval and air forces to identify and verify the Australian military aircraft, and issued a warning to drive them away. The Australian military plane is a serious threat to China’s sovereignty and security. The response measures taken by the Chinese military are professional, safe, reasonable and legal. The Australian side has turned black and white, repeatedly spread false information, and advocated confrontation. China firmly opposes this. We urge the Australian side to immediately stop such dangerous and provocative actions and strictly restrict the actions of naval and air forces, otherwise it will bear all the serious consequences arising therefrom.