00:00Off the South Korean coast, an Australian warship is helping enforce UN sanctions against
00:09Kim Jong-un's regime.
00:14Last weekend, this Seahawk chopper was operating from HMAS Hobart over international waters
00:20of the Yellow Sea when it was intercepted by a Chinese military jet.
00:26The actions of the Chinese military were irresponsible and very concerning.
00:31Like with this encounter involving the Americans last year, the People's Liberation Army aircraft
00:40fired flares towards the path of the Australian helicopter.
00:44Certainly it's unsafe because it could have had significant implications for the navigational
00:49safety of the Seahawk.
00:51The confrontation coming 24 hours after Australia, the United States, Japan and the Philippines
00:58vowed to step up collective efforts to counter Beijing's military assertiveness in the region.
01:05And just days after Australia's Navy chief confronted his Chinese counterpart over last
01:11November's dangerous sonar attack against HMAS Toowoomba, also in international waters.
01:18We have made very strong representations at every level to China about this incident
01:26which we regard as unprofessional and unacceptable.
01:30No defence personnel were injured in this latest incident, but Australia's increasingly
01:35concerned about China's behaviour to the north, where the risks of future miscalculations
01:41are growing.
01:42And despite the diplomatic and military protests, Beijing's standing firm and accusing Australia
01:49of being provocative.
01:51And China's in turn launched its own protest.
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