The German Foreign Office on Tuesday said that it summoned China's ambassador to Germany, Deng Hongbo, following an incident in the Red Sea.

In a post on X, the Foreign Office said that a German aircraft was targeted with a laser by China's military.

German aircraft targeted with laser 

"The Chinese military employed a laser targeting a German aircraft in the EU operation #ASPIDES," the post on X read.

"Endangering German personnel & disrupting the operation is entirely unacceptable," it went on to say with confirmation that China's diplomat in the country had been summoned.

Germany's military is involved in  Operation Aspides, which aims to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea from the Houthi militia operating out of Yemen and involves up to 700 German military personnel.

The Associated Press cited a German Defense Ministry official as saying that the incident took place earlier this month and involved a Chinese warship that had been encountered on a number of occasions in the area.

The spokesperson said the aircraft was targeted "without any reason or prior contact."

"By using the laser, the warship accepted the risk of endangering people and material," AP quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Unclear what type of laser used

It was not immediately clear whether the laser was a weapon or a laser guidance system.

As a result of the action, the mission was aborted and the plane returned safely to a base in Djibouti.

The ministry said the aircraft was being operated by a civilian commercial service provider but with German military personnel on board.

China has not yet commented on the incident. 

Edited by: Wesley Rahn 

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