On July 8, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador in connection with the incident in the Red Sea, where the Chinese military attacked a German aircraft with a laser. About this reported German Foreign Office.
“Chinese Military Uses Laser to Target German Aircraft During EU Operation ASPIDES”, – stated in the message.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany emphasized that they consider such behavior unacceptable, because it endangers the lives of the German crew and prevents the execution of the mission. It was because of this that the Chinese ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany.
The aircraft, which is part of the EU’s ASPIDES mission, which aims to protect international sea lanes in the Red Sea, has been operating as a multi-sensor reconnaissance platform since October. According to a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry, a Chinese warship, which had already been in the area several times, pointed a laser at the plane without any warning during a scheduled flight. The incident happened at the beginning of July. After that, the plane was forced to stop the flight as part of security measures and successfully landed at the base in Djibouti.
It will be recalled that earlier China already denied accusations of using lasers against American planes. Thus, in 2020, the US Pacific Fleet reported the use of a laser by a Chinese warship against a US Navy patrol aircraft over international waters near Guam. The Chinese side then stated that such claims were untrue.
