China in turn accused the Australian plane of "deliberately" intruding into airspace over the disputed Paracel Islands,

Australia has raised concerns with China over what it said on Thursday were "unsafe and unprofessional" actions by a Chinese fighter jet towards an Australian maritime patrol in the South China Sea two days earlier,

Australia has accused a Chinese fighter jet of almost hitting one of its surveillance planes with flares during an interaction earlier this week in international airspace over the South China Sea. The Australian government has expressed its concerns to Beijing about the incident,

Australia spotted three Chinese warships sailing near its coast as Beijing accused Canberra of sending a spy plane into its "territorial airspace" over the contested South China Sea. Newsweek has contacted the Australian and Chinese militaries for comment by email.

The Philippine foreign ministry said on Friday it was "concerned" over what it described as "unsafe manoeuvres" and the use of flares by a Chinese air force plane against an Australian Air Force aircraft in the South China Sea.

China accused Australia of deliberately "provoking" China in the South China Sea this week, and of "invading" and "breaking into" the homes of others, its defence ministry said on Friday. The ministry spokesperson said Australia was spreading "false narratives".

Australia has protested what it describes as an unsafe and unprofessional interaction over the South China Sea where a Chinese fighter is accused of releasing flares that endangered an Australian mili