Australia Says Navy Divers Injured by Chinese Sonar Pulses

(Bloomberg) -- Australia has told China it has serious concerns about injuries to its navy divers by sonar pulses from a Chinese destroyer inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone this week.

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A People’s Liberation Army-Navy destroyer ignored requests to keep clear of the divers, Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement on Saturday. They had been freeing nets that had become entangled around propellers of the Australian navy’s HMAS Toowoomba, which was conducting operations in the area on Tuesday to support United Nations sanctions.

“Medical assessments conducted after the divers exited the water identified they had sustained minor injuries likely due to being subjected to the sonar pulses from the Chinese destroyer,” Marles’ office said, calling the incident “unsafe and unprofessional conduct.”

Relations between Australia and China have rapidly improved over the past 18 months following the election of the center-left Labor government in Canberra. A visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this month marked the first such trip by an Australian leader in more than seven years.

Read More: Australia-China Tensions Ease as Albanese Ends Beijing Trip

The Australian ship had been in the waters as part of Operation Argos, enforcing sanctions against North Korea during a regional presence deployment, the navy had earlier said.

(Updates with background on recent relations and navy operations from fourth paragraph)

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