A Chinese People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel hit an Australian P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft with a military-grade laser on February 17, the Australian defense ministry has confirmed.
The Poseidon detected a laser illuminating it during a flight over Australia’s northern approaches.
“Illumination of the aircraft by the Chinese vessel is a serious safety incident,” the Australian defense ministry said, adding that “acts like this have the potential to endanger lives.”
While the defense ministry did not confirm which vessel employed the laser against the Australian aircraft, images released by the defense ministry showed a Luyang-class guided missile destroyer and a Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock vessel in the Arafura Sea at the time of the incident. Both ships have since transited through the Torres Strait and are in the Coral Sea.
“We strongly condemn unprofessional and unsafe military conduct. These actions could have endangered the safety and lives of the ADF personnel,” the Australian defense ministry said.
“Such actions are not in keeping with the standards we expect of professional militaries.”
This is not the first time Chinese vessels have engaged in such actions. In February 2020, a Chinese ship fired a laser at a US Navy Poseidon aircraft over the Pacific. China denied this at the time, accusing the US aircraft of irresponsible behavior.