Scott Morrison has said he is “very concerned” about China’s use of lasers against Australian aircrafts. Branding it “an act of intimidation”
“I am very concerned about the actions of using the lasers on an Australian surveillance aircraft,” said the Prime Minister. “I can see it no other way than an act of intimidation, one that was unprovoked, unwarranted and Australia will never accept such acts of intimidation.”
At 12:35am on Thursday, an RAAF P-8A Poseidon detected a military-grade laser pointed at the aircraft while in flight.
The Department of Defence says a Chinese vessel was sailing through the Arafura Sea at the time of the incident.
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“I have no doubt that if it had been an Australian vessel, British vessel, American vessel, French vessel, Japanese vessel, or German for that matter, that was going through similar waters in the South China Sea, and it was done toa Chinese surveillance aircraft, then people could guess what the reaction would have been. It was a dangerous act… I thought it was a reckless and irresponsible act.”
Defence Minister Peter Dutton labeled the act “aggressive bullying” that “can result in the blindness of the crew [and] can obviously result in damage of equipment.”
Defence deemed the actions as “unsafe military conduct” that “are not in keeping with the standards we expect of professional militaries.”
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese likewise condemned China’s actions and suggested that “the Australian government should be making the strongest possible statement about what is a reckless act.”
This is not the first instance of Chinese vessels using lasers to interfere with Australian aircrafts. In May 2019, military insiders blamed Chinese maritime militia vessels with hand-held lasers for impeding on ADF vessels and aircrafts.
At the time, Defence said that the low-strength lasers were not of significant concern. However, points out that the use of “more powerful military-grade laser devices,” such as the ones used against Poesidon, would be “deeply concerning and potentially dangerous.”
