Australia says Chinese fighter jet released flares near its military plane

Australia's defense department said Monday that a Chinese fighter jet released flares dangerously close to an Australian air force aircraft that was conducting patrols over the South China Sea.

The incident occurred as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump in the White House for the first time later Monday. Australia is trying to navigate between its close alliance with the United States and its economic dependence on China, its largest trading partner.

The South China Sea incident is the latest confrontation in a region where China has been asserting its growing military power. That has alarmed Australia and forced it to take a hard look at its heavy military dependence on the United States.

Australia doubled down on that dependence by signing a nuclear submarine deal with the United States and Britain during the Biden administration. The Trump administration said in June that it was reviewing whether the deal was aligned with Trump's "America First" agenda.

For years, Australia, the United States and Canada have accused Chinese fighter jets of flying dangerously close to their aircraft and performing other unsafe maneuvers. China, in turn, has accused the three countries of conducting patrols that threatened China's security.

The incident Sunday appeared to fit a similar pattern.

Australia's Department of Defense said in a statement Monday that a Chinese Su-35 fighter jet had released flares near a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft Sunday. The statement said the incident occurred while the Australian aircraft was conducting a maritime surveillance patrol in the South China Sea.

"This was an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver that posed a risk to the aircraft and its personnel," the defense department said, adding that it had expressed its concerns to the Chinese government.

China's Southern Theater Command Air Force said in a statement that the Australian aircraft had entered China's airspace over the Paracel Islands -- a disputed cluster of islands on the western edge of the South China Sea to which Vietnam and Taiwan have claims -- without permission.

Chinese forces mobilized to track and warn off the Australian aircraft, the statement said, adding that Australia's actions had "seriously violated China's sovereignty."

At his White House meeting with Trump on Monday, Albanese is expected to attempt to position Australia as an alternative supplier of rare earth minerals for the United States. Earlier this month, China moved to limit the supply of those metals -- a move that underscored the value for the United States of having close allies like Australia to help counter China's influence.

Albanese is also expected to seek to gain leverage on trade talks and a renewed commitment to the submarine deal.

In February, a group of Chinese navy ships made an unannounced voyage around Australia. While the ships' actions were legitimate under international law, the voyage marked the farthest south the Chinese military had ever ventured and raised alarm in Australia.