ARAFURA SEA, AUSTRALIA — Chinese laser incident summary. <br /> <br /> <br />Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has asked the Chinese government to explain what he called the ‘dangerous’ act of shining a laser at an Australian P-8A surveillance aircraft that was tracking two People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels through the Arafura Sea, inside Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, on February 17, according to CNN. <br /> <br /> <br />Chinese state newspaper The Global Times cited an anonymous military analyst who said the equipment involved in the incident was a laser range finder, used to measure the distance between the ship and the aircraft, and said its use was normal if an aircraft got too close to a vessel. <br /> <br /> <br />One maritime security expert cited by The Guardian, however, said if pilots were ‘dazzled,’ it could affect their ability to safely land and, more seriously, the use of a laser could be seen as a precursor to firing a weapon. <br /> <br /> <br />China’s defense ministry said Australia’s aircraft got within 4 kilometers of its vessels, while an Australian defense spokesperson said the distance was approximately 7.7 kilometers. <br /> <br />
