Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday labelled the accusation “groundless” and urged Australia to stop “maliciously” spreading false information.
Earlier,Australia was accused of “throwing mud” in the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece,The Global Times.
The paper quoted military expert Song Zhongping,who claimed it was “almost certain” that the Australian P-8A aircraft was too close to the Chinese warships.
He said Australia failed to tell the public how close its aircraft flew near the Chinese vessels,“so people could not tell if the Chinese vessels were forced to take defensive countermeasures”.
The Global Times played down the incident,saying almost all modern warships were equipped with the devices.
“They are also used for civilian purposes and are of little danger,” the anonymous analyst said,noting that the Australian military knowingly hyped this with the aim of throwing mud at China.