BERLIN

Germany on Tuesday accused China of targeting a German aircraft with a laser during an EU military operation in the Red Sea.

“The Chinese military used a laser to target a German aircraft participating in the EU operation ASPIDES,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X.

“Putting German personnel at risk and disrupting the operation is completely unacceptable,” the ministry said, adding that China’s ambassador in Berlin was summoned to the ministry today to convey Germany’s protest regarding the incident.

According to the German magazine Spiegel, the aircraft involved was a German reconnaissance plane chartered for the mission. The incident occurred when the German aircraft came close to a Chinese frigate off the coast of Yemen.

German sources told the magazine that contrary to standard protocol, the crew of the Chinese frigate did not communicate over emergency frequencies beforehand and employed a laser targeting the aircraft.

There was no immediate reaction from China on the incident.

The EU's ASPIDES mission in the Red Sea aims to protect the important trade route against attacks by the Houthis, who have been targeting commercial vessels to stop Western support for Israel's war on Gaza.

Currently, approximately 700 German military personnel are participating in the mission. In January, the German parliament extended the country's participation in the mission until the end of October 2025.