China has used sound waves in an incident in international waters that resulted in injuries to Australian divers. The charge was issued by the mainland state government.
Australia's defense minister announced that a Chinese warship had made "unsafe and unprofessional" actions near Japan earlier this week.
The warship approached an Australian frigate while divers were clearing fishing nets from its propellers, he said. The Chinese vessel then emitted dangerous sound pulses, the minister added.
This posed "a risk to the safety of the Australian divers, who were forced out of the water," Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
The divers suffered minor injuries that may have been caused by the sound waves. "Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a professional and safe manner," he said.
The Australian frigate had communicated its intention to conduct diving operations in normal sea channels and using internationally recognized signals, the statement said.
There is still no comment from the Chinese government regarding the incident. According to the Medical Advisory Committee on Diving, a London-based body, high levels of underwater sound can cause "dizziness, hearing loss or other injury" to divers. The reported incident occurred on Tuesday in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Australian ship was conducting operations in support of UN sanctions enforcement, Mr Marles said, without elaborating. (A2 Televizion)
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