BEIJING, May 7 -- "The operations of the Chinese side are legitimate, reasonable, professional and safe, and are fully in line with the international law and international practice. Australia's statement confuses right and wrong and shifts the blame. We're firmly opposed to that," said a Chinese defense spokesperson on Tuesday.
Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks when rebutting the claims made by Australian defense minister Richard Marles saying that Chinese fighter jet's interception of an Australian helicopter in the international waters of Yellow Sea on May 4 was "a very serious incident."
According to Zhang, a Chinese naval fleet conducted training in relevant waters of China's Yellow Sea from May 3 to 4, during which the Australian guided missile destroyer HMAS Hobart dispatched a ship-borne helicopter for three times to conduct close-in reconnaissance and disturb the normal training activities of the Chinese side.
The spokesperson noted that the Chinese troops sent a vocal warning to the Australian helicopter and conducted legitimate, reasonable, professional, and safe operations to expel it, which are fully in line with the international law and international practice.
"We urge the Australian side to truly respect China's sovereignty and security concerns, cease spreading false narratives, strictly constrain the operations of its naval and air forces, stop all dangerous provocations, and avoid undermining the overall relationship between the two countries and the two militaries," stressed the spokesperson in the end.