Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison accused Beijing of an ‘act of intimidation’ after a Chinese navy vessel directed a laser at an Australian military surveillance aircraft last week.
A P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was illuminated on Thursday while flying over Australia’s northern approaches by a laser from a People’s Liberation Army–Navy (PLA-N) vessel, potentially endangering lives, the defence department said.
Morrison said his government will demand answers from Beijing.
“I can see it no other way than an act of intimidation, one (…) unprovoked, unwarranted,” Morrison said at a briefing. “And Australia will never accept such acts of intimidation.”
