There are many small incidents taking place in the Pacific with Chinese ships, either Navy or Coast Guard, attempting to chase or block other warships on their way if they judge they are within “Chinese maritime limits”. As defined by Beijing, of course.
The most recent involves the Australian MEKO-class frigate, HMAS Toowoomba (photo below), and took place on 14 November. According to a statement from the Australian Ministry of Defense, the vessel had stopped in international waters, inside the Japanese EEZ, so that divers could go into the water and remove nets that had become entangled with the propellers. The ship had announced the relevant action to the passing vessels through the political communication channels.
The surface vessel then been approached by the Chinese destroyer Nigbo (139) of 956EM class, which despite being alerted by the Australian to the presence of divers and told to keep clear, responded to calls, continued to approach and eventually activated its hull sonar !
So the Australian divers were forced to come out of the water with minor injuries. Let’s say here that a pulse of war sonar at close range is so powerful, that it can even kill a person in the water. The sound exceeds 200 decibels and is capable of rupturing internal organs, causing bleeding, and the least of course is breaking the ear drum.
The Australian announcement accuses the Chinese ship of “unsafe and unprofessional behavior” and complains about it to the Chinese government, but in a text that is clearly mildly worded.
