What China seems to be saying with its war games near Australia is: If you’re challenging our air space over the South China Sea, which belongs to

Australia has accused the Chinese air force of an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with one of Canberra’s military aircraft over the South China Sea during a routine maritime surveillance operation.

Canberra says Chinese jet dropped flares nears its air force plane as China accuses Australia of airspace intrusion.

Australia spotted three Chinese warships sailing near its coast as Beijing accused Canberra of sending a spy plane into its "territorial airspace" over the contested South China Sea. Newsweek has contacted the Australian and Chinese militaries for comment by email.

Accusation comes after Australia says a Chinese military jet conducted ‘unsafe’ manoeuvres over international waters.

I was very clear in that.” Australian military officials have reportedly raised concerns with their Chinese counterparts about a midair incident over the South China Sea, as senior officials met in Beijing.

Australia and China traded blame over an incident above the disputed Paracel archipelago in the South China Sea, adding to an already volatile situation in the region. A Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft experienced an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft on Tuesday,

Australia learned about Chinese live-fire naval drills off the country’s coast that forced dozens of flights to be diverted via an alert from a commercial pilot, authorities said on Monday.

Australia's defense forces, joined by New Zealand, have been monitoring Chinese navy vessels since they were spotted last week.

China in turn accused the Australian plane of "deliberately" intruding into airspace over the disputed Paracel Islands,

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter crossing the Tasman Sea as part of maritime security cooperation with Australia and New Zealand knew Chinese naval ships were in the area but had no interaction with them, its commanding officer said on Tuesday.