At first glance, the photograph of two fighter jets — one parked on the tarmac and other zooming past it in the air — appears entirely commonplace.

President Donald Trump on Thursday offered to sell state-of-the-art fighter jets to India as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to ramp up trade.

Australia has raised concerns with China over what it said on Thursday were "unsafe and unprofessional" actions by a Chinese fighter jet towards an Australian maritime patrol in the South China Sea two days earlier,

While it has no claims to the South China Sea, Australia has aligned itself close to the US and its allies in saying that China's assertions have no legal basis. "Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner," the department said in a statement on Thursday.

Australia has protested what it describes as an unsafe and unprofessional interaction over the South China Sea where a Chinese fighter is accused of releasing flares that endangered an Australian mili