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Canberra accuses a Chinese vessel of aiming a laser at an Australian military aircraft off the northern coast of Australia on Thursday.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a press conference in Canberra on January 6, 2022.
AFP
Australia’s prime minister said China had committed an “act of intimidation”, with the government in Canberra accusing a Chinese ship of aiming a laser at an Australian military plane.
Two Chinese navy ships were sailing off Australia’s northern coast on Thursday when one of them targeted an Australian surveillance plane with a laser, which “might put lives at risk”, the Australian Department of Health said. defense. “I cannot consider it other than an act of intimidation,” noted Prime Minister Scott Morrison, describing this action as “unjustified and unprovoked”.
Defense Minister Peter Dutton went further by denouncing a “very aggressive act”. “I think the Chinese government hopes that nobody talks regarding these aggressive acts of intimidation,” he told Sky News television on Sunday.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the ships were heading east into the Arafura Sea, located north of the Australian coastal city of Darwin and also bordering Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The Chinese authorities have not reacted at this stage to the Australian accusations.
Canberra previously accused China in 2019 of targeting Australian military aircraft with military-grade lasers. It was then Air Force helicopters, targeted in the South China Sea where tensions have been high for years.
China indeed claims almost all of this sea through which billions of dollars of trade pass each year. The area, rich in natural resources, is also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
(AFP)