Canberra alleges that its P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft was targeted by a laser from a Chinese navy vessel in the Arafura Sea on 17 February. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that the lasing incident “endangered” the lives of Australian defence personnel.
The Chinese Defence Ministry has slammed Canberra for making “false accusations” against the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s (PLA-N), as it accused the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft of laying “sonar buoys” around the Chinese naval vessels while they were passing through the Arafura Sea off Australia’s northern coast.
Defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Tan Kefei said during a media briefing on Monday that the Australian surveillance plane had come very close to the Chinese vessels and was only four kilometres away from the ships at one point.
“In the whole process of encountering the Australian military aircraft, the Chinese ships have always maintained safe, standardized and professional operations, in line with relevant international law and practice,” he said, while responding to a question on the encounter that took place off Australia’s northern waters on 17 February.
Images taken from the Chinese vessel purport to show the P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft flying close to a ship.
Colonel Tan cautioned that such “provocative behaviour” could have led to “misjudgement” and posed a “threat to security of the personnel” on both sides.
“We express our firm opposition to these acts of the Australian side. We also demand that the Australian side immediately stop similar provocative and dangerous actions,” the Chinese official further remarked.
He added that “groundless accusations” against Beijing by Canberra could affect the “overall ties” between the two governments as well as both the militaries.
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Earlier in the day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also urged Canberra to desist from “maliciously” spreading false information about the encounter.
“The normal navigation of Chinese vessels on the high seas is in line with relevant international law and international practice and completely legal and legitimate,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated.
The responses by the Chinese government come hours after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Beijing to open a “full investigation” into the incident.
Canberra also released images of PLA-N’s Luyang-class guided missile destroyer and Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock vessel doing rounds of the waters off Australia’s northern coast to back its claims.
