The Australian anti-submarine aircraft that intruded into China's airspace over the Xisha Islands a few days ago was driven away by the PLA fighter jets after they fired chaff, but it flew back to Australia overnight.

Data from the flight tracking website "FlightAware" shows that on October 19, an Australian "P-8A" anti-submarine patrol aircraft (registration number A47-007) took off from the Philippines and directly entered China's airspace over the Xisha Islands for an intrusion, but was intercepted and driven away by the PLA.

Flight data of the Australian military aircraft on October 19

Later, Australian Defense Minister Marles again accused China's military aircraft of firing chaff toward the Australian military aircraft, with two of them "very close to the Australian military aircraft," calling the act "unsafe and unprofessional."

Marles' statements were refuted by the Chinese Ministry of Defense. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, Jiang Bin, stated that the Australian statement is misleading and trying to shift blame. The Australian military aircraft was the one who first violated and provoked, yet they accused China's legitimate actions as "unsafe and unprofessional." Such twisted arguments are not convincing anywhere. China urged Australia to stop violating and provoking, and to strictly control its frontline maritime and air forces, avoiding damaging Sino-Australian relations between the two countries and militaries.

After this public opinion battle, the incident should have been considered resolved, but Australia's next move was quite unexpected: the Australian military anti-submarine aircraft that had been driven away by the PLA returned to Australia overnight.

The flight itinerary of this Australian P-8A

Flight data shows that this Australian military anti-submarine aircraft (registration number A47-007) took off again several hours after returning to the Philippines, arriving at Darwin International Airport in Australia around 10:53 PM local time, then briefly stopped in Darwin before taking off again, flying south to the Edinburgh Air Force Base in Australia.

It is worth noting that the Edinburgh Air Force Base is where the deep maintenance and modification facilities for the Australian "P-8A" anti-submarine aircraft are located. Considering that Australian Defense Minister Marles claimed that the PLA fighter jets fired chaff at the Australian military aircraft, it is clear what happened to this Australian military anti-submarine aircraft.

The Australian military aircraft started to flee from the Philippines

In May 2022, another Australian "P-8A" anti-submarine aircraft conducted reconnaissance activities in the South China Sea and was monitored and warned by China's J-16 fighter jets. After warnings proved ineffective, the Chinese fighter jet fired chaff to drive it away, part of which was sucked into the engine of the Australian aircraft, forcing it to abort the mission and return.

Subsequently, Australian media claimed that the crew members of the Australian military aircraft were so frightened that they suffered from "post-traumatic stress disorder," requiring them to be grounded and receive psychological treatment.

Therefore, this year's Australian military anti-submarine aircraft clearly met the same fate as its "predecessor," although it is unknown how many Australian crew members will need to see a psychologist this time.

On October 22, this P-8A arrived at the Edinburgh Air Force Base

It should be said that Australia's current strategic thinking is so contradictory.

As a resource country, Australia exports iron ore, beef, and dairy products, all of which are needed by China, and there is strong complementarity between the two in economic terms. This economic relationship should constitute a healthy and positive Sino-Australian relationship.

However, as a member of the Western bloc, Australia has long followed the United States' lead in political, diplomatic, and military aspects - the most prominent example being that although Australia is not a South China Sea-related country, it has repeatedly sent military aircraft to intrude into Chinese island and reef areas in the South China Sea, which is obviously supported and authorized by the United States.

My J-16 drove away the Australian P-8A in May 2022

Australia's behavior of following the U.S. lead in security and foreign affairs, while highly dependent on China economically, is essentially a strategic anxiety: currently, the influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific is slowly declining, but in the future, the U.S. can withdraw from the Asia-Pacific, but Australia cannot move the entire country.

To put it simply, as a white country and a member of the Western bloc, Australia has inherited a deep-seated suspicion of non-Western great powers, especially the rise of China has triggered anxiety and unease among conservative white Australians regarding civilizational conflicts.

But Australia's strength limits the spread of this anxiety and unease, reflected in reality as the impotent fury over the PLA fighter jets firing chaff to drive away the Australian military aircraft.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564258074391757355/

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