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Australia has lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing after a Chinese fighter jet released flares close to an Australian surveillance plane in the South China Sea, in yet another potentially dangerous encounter between the two militaries.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the Australian P-8 surveillance plane was conducting a routine patrol over the South China Sea when it was approached by a People's Liberation Army (PLA) Su-35 fighter jet that released flares, two of them "very close" to the P8.

Marles said while none of the Australian crew members were injured, the encounter was "unsafe and unprofessional" and that the government had made representations to China in both Canberra and Beijing.

"No damage was done but it was dangerous and it was unsafe, and inherent in that is that it could have been a different outcome," he said.

Keen to know the full story? Follow the link below to read more from foreign affairs correspondent Stephen Dziedzic.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has just revealed a Chinese military aircraft released flares "very close" to a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon over the South China Sea.

So what is a P-8A Poseidon? And how is it different from other aircraft in the Royal Australian Air Force's fleet?

The Poseidon is a multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft that is specifically designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The aircraft looks similar to a Boeing 737 commercial plane, but is built specifically as a military aircraft.

Defence says it the plane is modified with a weapons bay, under wing and under fuselage hard points for weapons. 

The Poseidon has a electro-optical camera, electronic signal detection system and high-capacity acoustic system.

Richard Marles has been asked whether the Chinese fighter jet released the flares in the path of the Australian P-8A aircraft. 

The defence minister says the flares were released "very close" to the Australian aircraft.

He says no damage was done to the aircraft, but says the action was "very dangerous" and "unsafe". 

But pressed on exactly how close the flares were released to the Australian aircraft, Marles says the government won't put a distance on it, other than it was "very close".

Marles says because the P-8A Poseidon aircraft is a large aircraft, it was not easily manoeuvrable. 

Defence Minister Richard Marles says the Australian government has raised the incident with the Chinese embassy in Canberra. 

"We have advocated or raised this issue, with the Chinese embassy here in Canberra and we have also made representations via our embassy in Beijing," Marles says.

He says Australia will continue to undertake activities which assert the rules based order and advocate freedom of navigation.

"Freedom of navigation in the air and on the sea is fundamental to Australia's national interests. We reiterate that's in the majority of Australia's trade goes through the South China Sea," he says.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has just stepped up to provide some more details on that incident between a Chinese military jet and Royal Australian Air Force plane over the South China Sea yesterday.

The defence minister says the Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon was conducting a routine surveillance over the South China Sea in international airspace when the incident occured. 

He says the Chinese Su-35 fighter jet came up alongside the Australian aircraft and released flares "very close" to the P-8A aircraft.

"Having reviewed the incident very carefully, we deemed this to be both unsafe and unprofessional," Marles says.

"Now, let me be completely clear that aircrew are safe and they the plane was able to land perfectly safely and not damaged it any way," he says.

There's been another potentially dangerous encounter between the Australian Defence Force and the Chinese military

Defence Minister Richard Marles says that an Australian P8 plane was doing a routine maritime surveillance patrol in the South China Sea when it was approached by a People's Liberation Army fighter jet which released flares — two of them "very close" to the Australian surveillance plane.

Speaking to Sky News, Marles says the conduct was "unsafe and unprofessional" and Australia had made representations both in Beijing and to the Chinese Embassy in Canberra.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says he thinks there will be mixed views about Barnaby Joyce leaving the National Party. 

Joyce announced he would not be recontesting his seat of New England at the next federal election, and hasn't ruled out switching to One Nation. 

Turnbull says political figures in the Coalition are concerned about being outflanked on the right side of politics.

"I think there will be mixed views about him leaving. Some people say that disrupts the Nationals, others say it is better to have him out of the room," Turnbull says.

"Will he be able to make a big difference with One Nation? Certainly the Queensland Nationals, LNP, have always been anxious about being outflanked on the right, in fact more anxious about that than about the political rivals on the left like the Labor Party," he says.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says Anthony Albanese should be upfront, strong and sincere in his meeting with Donald Trump.

Speaking to Afternoon Briefing, the former prime minister says Albanese shouldn't be inauthentic because it be "such a bad look". 

"Trump respects strength and that is what you have to manifest if you are trying to get things done with him," Turnbull says. 

He says while the US president can be "wild, erratic, colourful" and "difficult", he's not an irrational actor because he understands his self interest. 

Turnbull says it wouldn't be in Trump's interest to withdraw from AUKUS, after the Pentagon launched a review into the program.

"The AUKUS deal is a fantastic deal for the Americans, a terrible deal for Australia, so there is no way Donald Trump will walk away from it because what does he get?" he says.

"I know Donald Trump pretty well and from his point of view AUKUS is a fantastic deal for the United States."

Climate 200 would have been blocked from donating $8.34 million to independent candidates at the 2025 election under new laws set to come into effect next year.

The political funding organisation led by billionaire Simon Holmes a Court made $10.86 million in donations to teal candidates in the lead-up to the federal election.

But under laws passed in a deal between Labor and the Coalition that cap annual donations to $50,000 per candidate, it would not have been able to donate the vast majority of that.

Those laws will be in place at the next election.

Read the full story by political reporter Jake Evans in the link below.