A Chinese navy vessel shone a military-grade laser at an Australian air force plane in the middle of the night last Thursday.
The Arafura Sea is within Australia's exclusive economic zone off the north coast of the country. This is the closest military intimidation by China has gotten to our shores.
The Chinese vessel steamed through the northern tip ofQueensland with another PLA-N ship, heading towards the Coral Sea off the Great Barrier Reef.
If the ships stay outside of Australia's territorial waters, which are 12 nautical miles from the coast, they may be intending to monitor the upcoming Australian military exercises.
The act of pointing a laser at something was not appropriate.
The Chinese ship's military conduct was condemned by the Department of Defence. Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared the incident an act of intimidation that put military lives at risk. Defence Minister Peter Dutton labelled it an aggressive act.
It is important to understand what a laser attack is, what lasers are used for, and how dangerous they are. We have to consider the possible reasons China would engage in such an act.
Modern warships have lasers. These are used to determine the firing range and designate a target. It is practiced against targets.
It is dangerous for two reasons. Pointing a laser is often referred to as painting a target before firing live weapons. It is seen as a hostile act, just short of crossing the threshold of open conflict or war.
Laser pointing is separated from firing a missile by a split second. This can be a frightening experience for people.
Laser beams can cause permanent blindness if they are shone into someones eyes, as well as damage to important navigation and other systems critical to air safety.
Laser pointers were popular in schools until they realized the potential for harm. The lasers are harmful.
The waters of the South China Sea are frequently confronted by vessels from the Chinese Coast Guard and the People's Liberation Army.
The Chinese vessels have been engaging in this kind of behavior against other aircraft for some time.
This kind of assertive and aggressive behavior is not what is expected in the waters close to Australia or within the exclusive economic zone. This tactic is not known to have been used by Australia against other nations, particularly not close to or within China's exclusive economic zone. This seems to be an increase.
China may be trying to send a message to Australia that its naval patrols in the South China Sea are not welcome. Other nations such as Japan, the UK and France also engage in these patrols as do the US Navy.
China sees these FONOPS as provocative, given it claims nearly the entirety of the South China Sea contained within the so-called "nine dash line".
There are two obvious deductions from the events over the last few days. China is increasing its pressure on Australia. Australian politicians are eager to use heightened tensions with China to draw attention to themselves in the lead-up to the election.
There is a need for issues like this to be handled delicately with the election approaching. We must avoid making concessions to China in order to avoid an issue of significant importance to the future security and stability of the region.
In considering how best to manage this in the future, Australian diplomats should be looking for support from nations in the region, such as the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Solidarity has strength. China is trying to see what limits it can reach while avoiding a war.
Beijing knows that provoking conflict will have a negative effect on the country&s reputation. It doesn't want to damage its attempts to undermine American and US-aligned security policies that support the Court of Arbitration ruling on the South China Sea.
Australia has an effect on the region. Our neighbours in Southeast Asia and the Pacific will be watching closely to see how far we can push back against Chinese aggression without crossing the threshold of open conflict.
John Blaxland is a professor at the Australian National University.
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