Australian helicopters targeted by lasers in South China Sea

CNN reports that Australian military helicopters were targeted with lasers during operations in the South China Sea this month. The lasers were pointed at them from passing fishing vessels.

The incidents were revealed by Euan Graham of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute wrote on The Strategist blog, who was aboard the warship HMAS Canberra, a helicopter landing dock and flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, from which the aircraft were operating.

Graham also said that the Canberra and other Australian ships operating with it were shadowed almost continuously by Chinese warships while in the South China Sea, even though they did not approach any of the islands and reefs occupied by the Chinese military.

US military officials told CNN last year that there were at least 20 suspected Chinese laser incidents in the eastern Pacific from September 2017 to June 2018.

Via CNN