Incident occurred thousands of kilometers from the Australian mainland in the Yellow Sea. It’s important to note here that the entire Yellow Sea falls under either China, South Korea, or North Korea’s EEZ, although most of it falls under no country’s ADIZ because of how the countries bordering the Yellow Sea have negotiated airspace rules.
Australia is getting their panties in a twist. They’re fucking flares, a standard component of intercepts when veering near sovereign airspace.