The Ministry of Defense of Australia officially notified of the dangerous incident that happened on May 4th, 2024 in the international waters of the Yellow Sea. Reportedly, an unspecified fighter jet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army intercepted an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter belonging to the Australian Navy and launched flares in front of it.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles later added that the flares were released along the helicopter's flight path 300 meters ahead and from 60 meters above the rotorcraft. No one was injured in this incident but this sort of confrontation was extremely dangerous because the flares could have damaged the helicopter's propeller and taken it down.
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Also, the statement from the Australian defense ministry notes that this MH-60R Seahawk is based on the HMAS Hobart destroyer, which is currently participating in Operation Argos, an Australian commitment to ensure the effectiveness of UN sanctions against North Korea, launched in 2018.
On the part of Defense Express, the actions of the Chinese fighter echo the episode of russian pilots releasing flares in front of the American MQ-9 Reaper UAV. It happened in August 2023. And even before that, in March 2023, a russian fighter jet collided mid-air with another Reaper — that was near the russian-occupied Crimea in neutral airspace.
Both cases did not lead to an appropriate reaction from the United States, the owner of the equipment that suffered from those assaults, and became a precedent, or a "green light" for China, though this time they flared not just a UAV but a manned helicopter.
Nonetheless, it is unlikely that there will be an appropriate response in this case, since the response from the Australian Ministry of Defense to the hostile actions toward its helicopter was:
"Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a professional and safe manner."
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