Indignant Australian Division of Defence officers have despatched please clarify notes to counterparts in Beijing after the Chinese language navy used a military-grade laser to assault a Royal Australian Air Power airplane.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton known as the usage of a laser on the RAAF surveillance P-8A Poseidon off Australia's northern coast "a really harmful act" which endangered the lives of 10 crew.
The 2 PLA navy ships, which included a guided missile destroyer, had been crusing within the Arafura Sea, throughout the Torres Strait and into the Coral Sea final Thursday when the assault on the P8 with a really robust military-grade laser was launched.
"It is a industrial-scale method," Mr Dutton mentioned, explaining the facility and penalties of the laser putting an plane.
"It may possibly disrupt the radars and in sure circumstances blind the crew," he mentioned.
"It was a really harmful act."
Mr Dutton mentioned the P8 had been monitoring the Chinese language vessels as a result of "these two ships have been in our zone" and "China would do precisely the identical if we have been traversing ships by their waters".
He mentioned Canberra sought diplomatic relationship with Beijing however he warned "Australia shouldn't be going to be bullied".
"I'll write to my counterpart and there have been approaches by Defence into their counterparts in Beijing," he mentioned.
"We are going to see what kind of response, if any, we get."
EXPLAINED:Why the South China Sea dispute issues
Since 2016, Beijing has steadily weaponised the South China Sea, constructing synthetic reefs and putting in navy bases on a few of them.
The US and its allies, together with Australia, have expressed concern over China's ambitions in Asia and the Pacific.