China says Australia's complaint about a laser from a Chinese naval vessel being directed at an Australian military aircraft does not square with facts.
In the first official response to Australian defence department reports that a laser was shone from a People's Liberation Army vessel at a surveillance aircraft in flight last Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Australia should stop maliciously spreading such information.
The Chinese navy vessel was within Australia's exclusive economic zone and directed a laser at an Australian military aircraft over Australia's northern approaches, illuminating the plane and potentially endangering lives, Australia said on Saturday.
A Chinese guided-missile destroyer and an amphibious transport dock were sailing east through the Arafura Sea between New Guinea and Australia at the time of the incident and later passed through the narrow Torres Strait.
China's foreign ministry rejected the Australian criticism, saying the ship was abiding by international law.
"The Chinese vessel sailing in the high seas complies with relevant international law and international practice and is fully legitimate and legal," Mr Wang told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing.
"We urge the Australian side to respect Chinese vessels' legitimate rights in accordance with international law in relevant seas and stop maliciously spreading disinformation in regards to China."
Ahead of the comments from Mr Wang, Chinese military expert Song Zhongping was interviewed by the Global Times, a state-run nationalist tabloid.
He told them: "Australia failed to tell the public how close its aircraft flew near the Chinese vessels, so people could not tell if the Chinese vessels were forced to take defensive countermeasures."
But Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told the ABC that China's behaviour was a "hostile act in our exclusive economic zone", which was "completely unacceptable".
"I don't suggest we're going to respond with military force. But I do think what we can do is use the political repercussions, diplomatic repercussions," he said.
While Australia and China remain trapped in a diplomatic dispute over the incident, here's what we do know so far.
What was the laser?
Dr Davis claimed it was a military-grade laser device and Defence said an RAAF P-8A Poseidon detected a military-grade laser illuminating the aircraft.
However, there has been no confirmation of exactly what type of laser was directed at the Australian aircraft.
The Global Times quoted an anonymous analyst close to the Chinese military who suggested the equipment was a laser rangefinder.
That is a type of measurement tool used to tell distances between objects.
All modern warships are equipped with them, but they are also used outside the armed forces.
They can become dangerous when aimed at humans, as is shown in the Chinese Navy's own documents.
The Chinese military guide for laser rangefinders warns that due to the strong energy of the laser beam, it can harm the human eye.
"The laser should not be fired at the human eye," the guide said.
Why did China do it?
According to the Global Times, Chinese armed forces were in the region to give "assistance to other countries … like Tonga and the Solomon Islands, helping them overcome disaster and epidemic".
But no officials have yet provided any solid answers as to why the Chinese vessels shone the laser.
"I suppose China needs to answer it," Dr Davis said.
"Essentially, China tries to intimidate the Australian aircraft and to force it away."
It is not the first time Chinese military vessels have used lasers against Australian patrol planes.
In 2019, Australian navy helicopter pilots were hit by lasers while exercising in the South China Sea at night.
The source of lasers has not been formally confirmed, but Australian military officials believe the lasers came from fishing boats.
Beijing maintains a robust maritime militia in the South China Sea, composed of fishing vessels equipped to carry out missions just short of combat.
Similar events likely to increase in future
A similar incident has happened between China and the US.
In 2018, the US issued a formal complaint to China over the use of lasers fired at aircraft, resulting in minor injuries to two pilots near Djibouti, where both countries have military bases.
Dr Zhang Jian, an expert in international studies at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said while details were hard to confirm, there was an urgent need to establish a way for Australia and China to solve similar disputes in the future.
"When China shone lasers at the US aircraft, the two countries have worked out a scenario to prevent further disputes," he said.
"There are no mutually agreed procedures or protocols for handling encounters between Australian and Chinese military installations on the high seas.
"The situation is likely to increase in the future as China and Australia increase their military activities in the region. Such problems will increase in waters close to China, such as the South China Sea."
