The Australian Ministry of Defense said today, Saturday, that a Chinese warship directed a laser beam at one of the ministry’s surveillance aircraft in northern Australia.
The ministry added - in a statement - that the accident occurred yesterday, Thursday, and described it as dangerous and unprofessional, noting that it posed a threat to the lives of the flight crew.
The statement said the laser beam was directed by a Chinese navy ship that was sailing with another Chinese ship in the Torres Strait, close to the northern coast of Australia.
This incident comes amid escalating tensions between China on the one hand and the United States and its allies on the other, in the context of the dispute over sovereignty and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Tensions exacerbated with the formation of the so-called "Aukus" alliance last September between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Associated News Agency said the incident comes as the United States and its allies accuse China of beefing up its military arsenal.
The agency referred to previous similar incidents in the past few years, as the United States accused - two years ago - the Chinese Navy of directing the laser at a surveillance plane of the American forces over the Pacific Ocean, and Australia also said that a helicopter of its navy was exposed to the laser beam over the South China Sea.
The agency also pointed to a US complaint to China about the use of laser beams near a military base in Djibouti.