Australian Helicopter Forced Into Evasive Action After ‘Unsafe’ Chinese Aircraft Manoeuvre

The Australian Defence Force says the CCP aircraft engaged in an ‘unsafe and unprofessional interaction.’

A Chinese Navy helicopter flies close to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources plane above Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Feb. 18, 2025. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

The Australian government has made another formal complaint to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after “an unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) helicopter.

In a statement, the Australian Department of Defence said the interaction took place on March 4 when HMAS Toowoomba was in international waters in the Yellow Sea undertaking routine activities as part of Operation Argos—Australia’s contribution to U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea.