Expert warns ‘closest attempt at military intimidation by China’ inside Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone

An expert has warned China’s firing of a laser in Australian waters was a sign of a deliberate military act as tensions flare up.

A defence expert has warned China’s firing of a laser in Australian waters was the closest military intimidation act on our shores as tensions between the two countries heat up.

Australia’s defence department reported a laser emanating from a People’s Liberation Army vessel illuminated a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft last Thursday.

The Chinese vessel, in company with another People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) ship, was sailing east through the Arafura Sea, located between Northern Australia and Western New Guinea, at the time of the incident.

At the time of the incident the aircraft was in Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the nation’s Top End.

Professor John Blaxland from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at ANU wrote in a piece for The Conversation that while China has done this before to Australia and the US in the South China Sea, it’s never been this close to home.

“From what we can ascertain, this is the closest an attempt at military intimidation by China has gotten to our shores.

“This is also not a tactic known to have been used by Australia against other nations’ naval vessels, particularly not close to or within China’s exclusive economic zone. So, this seems to be an escalation.”

The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea with a 200 nautical mile limit.

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The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), seen in orange, is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea. Picture: Geoscience Australia

According to the federal government, “in the EEZ, Australia has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing all natural resources of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil together with other activities such as the production of energy from water, currents and wind.

“Jurisdiction also extends to the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures, marine scientific research, the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and other rights and duties.”

It is one of the largest in the world with the total marine area of around 10 million square kilometres, considerably larger than the 7.69 million square kilometres of the Australian mainland.

As well as the EEZ, Australia has jurisdiction over its Territorial Seas and Contiguous Zones, both of which are internationally recognised Maritime Boundary Definitions.

Professor Blaxland told ABC Drive’s Richard Glover that while Australia has less authority over what China might do beyond the 12 nautical mile limit, or the Territorial Sea, the act of pointing a laser is a “precursor to war”.

“In the military context that kind of laser designation is all about the precursor act to a hostile firing of a missile or some sort of trajectory of a bullet or a machine gun or a gun,” he said.

“Let’s be realistic, that’s the exact precursor act to an act of war.

“It’s intimidatory behaviour and its designed to unnerve the pilots of this aircraft.

“It’s like you know you are a hair trigger away from being shot out of the sky. It’s pretty intimidating behaviour, there’s no question about it.”

A Chinese PLA-N Luyang-class guided missile destroyer leaving the Torres Strait and entering the Coral Sea over the weekend. Picture: Australian Defence Force / AFP

Maritime features, limits and zones. Picture: Geoscience Australia

Professor Blaxland warned this is not China’s first “hostile act” and warned of the consequences of such a laser hitting a target.

“They are within their rights to have their weapon systems and all their radar systems operating but actually choosing to point a laser at an Australian aircraft, it’s a hostile act,” he said of China.

“This is an industrial grade laser pointing, nothing like you have in the school classrooms.

“This is something that will completely blind somebody. Not only will it blind a human if they happen to look at it wrong time, wrong place, but it will also damage some of the important sensors on the aircraft.

“That can have potentially catastrophic effects on the aircraft itself … so this is not a benign act, it is genuinely adversarial behaviour, it is not appropriate.”

Federal Defence Minister Peter Dutton confirmed the attack had the potential to risk Australian lives and said the behaviour is no surprise from China.

“The acts of aggression we’re seeing in the East China Sea toward Japan by the Chinese government, the acts of aggression we’re seeing on the India-China land border against India, there’s a pattern of behaviour here and the pattern of behaviour is … consistently bad from the government of China,” he added.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) reconnaissance photo of a Peoples Liberation Army-Navy Luyang-class guided missile destroyer involved in a lasing incident with an RAAF P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

China says Aussie claims ‘untrue’

China has hit back at the claims, implying the Prime Minister used the incident as an excuse to throw mud at Beijing and that the incident is “untrue”.

Scott Morrison on Monday said the act was reckless for “what is supposed to be a professional defence force”.

But Beijing now claims the Chinese warship was in international waters and it was actually the Australian aircraft that was acting dangerously.

“According to what we have checked and verified with relevant department on the Chinese side, the information released by the Australian side is untrue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press conference in Beijing.

“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.

“We urge Australia to respect the lawful rights that China’s vessels are entitled to in relevant waters under international law and stop maliciously disseminating China-related disinformation.”

Shadow Defence Minister Brendan O’Connor told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that Labor condemns China’s actions and is awaiting further briefing from Mr Dutton and the ADF.

It is believed Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Mr O’Connor will be involved in the briefings.

“Certainly from the beginning we’ve argued that we need to do every thing we can to maintain peace and stability in the region,” Mr O’Connor said.

“We need to be forthright and clear that it is unacceptable for such aggression.”

— with NewsWire