ANKARA

China defended its military action to expel an Australian warplane on Wednesday, saying the response is "legitimate, professional, and restrained," after the Australian military aircraft violated its airspace over the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said such actions are "unacceptable anywhere."

Responding to a recent statement by the Australian Defense Ministry, which claimed that a Chinese military jet conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with one of its aircraft, Jiang called it an attempt to shift blame to China.

"Australia's statement is a blatant distortion of facts. It falsely accused China, attempting to cover up the vile act of its military aircraft illegally intruding into China's airspace. We are strongly dissatisfied with this and have lodged stern representations with the Australian side,” the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson said.

Australia expressed concern Monday over what it called an "unsafe" and "unprofessional" interaction in the South China Sea when a Chinese Su-35 fighter jet allegedly released flares near an Australian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft.

The incident occurred on Sunday as a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was conducting a surveillance mission in the South China Sea, according to the Australian Defense Ministry.