The German Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the Chinese ambassador, expressing strong objection to the laser attack by a Chinese warship on a German aircraft in the Red Sea. The German surveillance plane was part of the European Union mission ‘Aspides’. The aim is to better protect civilian ships from attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. The German Defense Ministry said the plane was attacked with a laser by a Chinese warship earlier this month “without any reason or prior warning.”
“By using the laser, the Chinese warship accepted the risk of endangering people and aircraft,” a ministry spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy. He said that as a precaution, the mission of the aircraft was immediately aborted. However, the ministry said, the aircraft landed safely at the Djibouti base and the crew members are also safe. The aircraft is operated by a civilian commercial service provider, but also carries German military personnel.
However, the surveillance aircraft has resumed its operations with the EU mission in the Red Sea. The German Foreign Ministry said in a post on X that “endangering German personnel and disrupting the operation is completely unacceptable.” Chinese spokesmen have not commented on this. The EU mission aims only to protect civilian ships and does not participate in any military attack. The southern part of the Red Sea is considered a high-risk area.
Also on Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels continued their hours-long attack, targeting a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea. The group claimed to have sunk a second ship in a separate attack, officials said, raising the risk of a fresh outbreak of fighting in the vital waterway.