Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleGermany accuses China of laser targeting a German aircraft in an EU mission, escalating tensions over security in the Red Sea.
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany summoned the Chinese ambassador to the foreign ministry on Tuesday after saying China's military had laser targeted a German aircraft taking part in an EU operation in the Red Sea.
The flare up in tensions comes as concerns mount in the EU about Chinese influence on critical technologies and security infrastructure in Europe.
"Putting German personnel at risk and disrupting the operation is completely unacceptable," said Germany's foreign ministry on social media platform X.
There was no immediate response from China's foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Germany's defence ministry said the aircraft, taking part in the EU's ASPIDES mission which protects international sea routes in the Red Sea, had been contributing a Multi-Sensor Platform, or "flying eye" for reconnaissance of the area since October.
A Chinese warship, which had been encountered several times in the area, had laser targeted the aircraft with no reason or prior communication during a routine mission flight, said a ministry spokesperson. The incident took place at the beginning of July.
"By using the laser, the warship put at risk the safety of personnel and material," said the spokesperson, adding the mission flight was aborted as a precaution and the aircraft landed safely at a base in Djibouti.
The deployment of the MSP in ASPIDES has since been resumed, he said.
The MSP is operated by a civilian commercial service provider and German armed forces personnel are involved, said the ministry, adding the data collected significantly contributes to awareness for partners.
China has previously denied accusations of firing or pointing lasers at U.S. planes. Incidents involving a European NATO member and China are more unusual.
In 2020, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said a Chinese warship had fired a laser at a U.S. naval patrol aircraft flying in airspace above international waters west of Guam. China said that did not accord with the facts.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Sabine SieboldAdditional reporting by Friederike Heine, Charlotte van Campenhout and Beijing newsroomEditing by Thomas Seythal and Peter Graff)
Germany summoned the Chinese ambassador after China's military laser targeted a German aircraft involved in an EU operation.
The German aircraft was part of the EU's ASPIDES mission, which aims to protect international sea routes in the Red Sea.
Germany's foreign ministry stated that putting personnel at risk and disrupting the operation is completely unacceptable.
There was no immediate response from China's foreign ministry, and the Chinese embassy in Berlin did not respond to the request for comment.
China has previously denied accusations of firing lasers at U.S. planes, with a notable incident occurring in 2020 involving a U.S. naval patrol aircraft.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
