---
title: "Australia: Chinese Lasers Forced Military Pilots to Land"
description: "Australian pilots recently had to land after Chinese boats reportedly aimed lasers at them. Now China is denying responsibility for the incident."
date: "2019-05-31"
modified: "2019-05-31"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/australia-chinese-lasers-military-pilots"
categories:
  - "Military"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "lasers"
  - "the digest"
---

# Australia: Chinese Lasers Forced Military Pilots to Land

![Australian pilots recently had to land after Chinese boats reportedly aimed lasers at them. Now China is denying responsibility for the incident.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/australia-chinese-lasers-military-pilots.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Andrew Meyers/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Blinding Light

Australian navy pilots claim that they were forced to land their helicopters after Chinese militia boats aimed lasers at them during a routine exercise over the South China Sea.

The laser-induced, precautionary grounding is just the latest of many [similar accounts](<https://futurism.com/20189>) by pilots from the U.S. and elsewhere, [according to *The Guardian*](<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/29/australian-navy-pilots-hit-with-lasers-during-south-china-sea-military-exercise>) — but now the Chinese government is denying that the incident ever took place.

## I'm Rubber You're Glue

A spokesman for the Chinese military told reporters on Thursday that the account is "not consistent with the facts," [according to *The Associated Press*](<https://apnews.com/ba22b1ea2641454e8f644d813d0d7504>).

The spokesman, Wu Qian, said that Australia ought to "reflect on itself" instead of blaming China.

## Extant Questions

According to the original account given by Australian officials and academics who witnessed the flight exercise, Chinese fishing boats that serve as a sort of border-patrolling militia followed the helicopters from a "discreet distance," per *The Guardian*.

For now, it remains unclear whether the lasers were switched on by startled fishermen or if they were part of a coordinated move to disrupt the Australian exercise.

"The apparent use of lasers in a pseudo-military context is a new development," Australian National University maritime law expert Don Rothwell told *The Guardian*.

**READ MORE:** [Australian navy pilots hit with lasers during South China Sea military exercise](<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/29/australian-navy-pilots-hit-with-lasers-during-south-china-sea-military-exercise>) \[*The Guardian*\]

**More on lasers:** *[Chinese Military’s Blinding Laser Weapons Violate International Agreement](<https://futurism.com/20189>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)