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Laser attacks in South China Sea

June 4, 2019 | Expert Insights

Background 

The South China Sea is a key commercial thoroughfare connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, and its seabed is rich with natural resources. One-third of global shipping, or a total of US$3.37 trillion of international trade, passes through the South China Sea. About 80 per cent of China’s oil imports arrive via the Strait of Malacca, in Indonesia, and then sail across the South China Sea to reach China. It is a vital trade route in the global supply chain, used by American companies who produce goods in the ally countries.

The South China Sea is subject to several overlapping territorial disputes involving China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. The conflict has remained unresolved for decades but has emerged as a flashpoint in China-US relations in Asia.

China‘s “nine-dash line” is a geographical marker used to assert its claim and it stretches as far as 2,000km from the Chinese mainland, reaching waters close to Indonesia and Malaysia.

Analysis

Australian navy pilots were hit by lasers during flights in the contested South China Sea, with informal Chinese militia vessels believed to be behind the attacks.

 La Trobe University’s Euan Graham noted that the interactions between the Royal Australian Navy and People’s Liberation Army Navy were cordial. “We were followed at a discreet distance by a Chinese warship for most of the transit, both on the way up and back, despite the fact that our route didn’t take us near any feature occupied by Chinese forces or any obviously sensitive areas,” Graham wrote in a piece for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Strategist blog.

“Some helicopter pilots had lasers pointed at them from passing fishing vessels, temporarily grounding them for precautionary medical reasons,” Graham said. Lasers have the potential to blind pilots which can disrupt their ability to navigate aircraft. These attacks can cause disorienting flashes, pain, spasms and spots in their vision. The dazzle effect can trigger temporary blindness, with "catastrophic" consequences, according to John Marshall, a professor at University College of London's Institute of Ophthalmology.

 Beijing has become more assertive in the area, stoking tensions with rival claimants in Southeast Asia as well as Canberra and Washington - traditionally the dominant naval and air power in the Asia-Pacific region. Defence sources said that helicopters were targeted during night flights, forcing the pilots to temporarily return to their ship for medical check-ups.

Analysts have said China operates a maritime militia that includes fishing trawlers to carry out missions in the South China Sea. Beijing last year rejected US allegations that Chinese nationals shone military-grade lasers at American pilots in Djibouti more than 20 times, where China operates a naval base. Two US pilots suffered minor eye injuries from those lasers, according to the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, American legislators are upping the ante with proposed sanctions on Chinese entities involved in Beijing’s expansionist militarization of the contested maritime area.  The sanctions bill takes the legal high ground, saying that the US “opposes actions by the government of any country to interfere in the free use of waters and airspace in the South China Sea or East China Sea” while saying China should stop pursuing “illegitimate claims and to militarize an area that is essential to global security”. The bill includes an initial list of 25 Chinese companies that could be sanctioned under its provisions

Assessment 

Our assessment is that China has been updating its home-made blinding laser weapons in recent years to meet the needs of different combat operation. China has had at least four different kinds of blinding laser weapons: the BBQ -905 Laser Dazzler Weapon, the WJG-2002 Laser Gun, the PY132A Blinding Laser Weapon and the PY131A Blinding Laser Weapon.  Chinese fishing vessels, likely the country’s ‘Little Blue Men’, a part-time militia is known to work on behalf of the Chinese Government and have assisted in more than 250 law enforcement operations at sea. 

Dazzlers are designed to warn people away by temporarily blinding them with pulses of green laser light. Most models that have been built for military use are designed to work at distances of 300 to 500 metres during the day and a kilometre or so at night. This makes them attractive for long-range use at sea to stop vessels. At 40 metres, the intense beam of a 200-milliwatt laser can permanently damage eyes. Lasers are also effective at destroying sensitive electro-optical sensors.

The maritime militias are drawn from China’s fishing fleet, which is officially said to number 21 million fishermen and 439,000 motor boats. 

We believe that providing them with dazzlers is likely to violate a provision of the United Nations 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Included in the convention is a 1998 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons prohibiting their use in combat.