INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: JordanBeijing, which operates a naval base in Djibouti, has denied Pentagon's accusations (Representational)Beijing, China:
China on Friday rejected US allegations that Chinese nationals shone military-grade lasers at American pilots in
Djibouti, dismissing the claims as "inconsistent with facts".Beijing, which operates a naval base in the Horn of Africa country, denied
Pentagon accusations that Chinese personnel have targeted US pilots in the country with the beams, resulting in minor injuries to airmen and
creating the potential for an accident."After careful verification, we have told the US explicitly that the so-called accusations are
totally inconsistent with facts," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters."You can remind relevant people in the US to pay
attention to facts and not to make groundless accusations," she said during a regular briefing.US officials issued a formal diplomatic
complaint and demanded Beijing investigate a series of incidents dating back several weeks, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said
Thursday."They are very serious incidents," White said."This activity poses a true threat to our airmen.In one case, two pilots on a C-130
cargo plane suffered minor eye injuries as they came in to land at the base in the Horn of Africa nation, another spokeswoman, Major Sheryll
Klinkel, told AFP.Located at Djibouti international airport, the US military's Camp Lemonnier base is its only permanent facility in Africa
It is used largely for counter-terrorism operations in East Africa and Yemen.China last year opened a naval base in Djibouti, only a few
miles (kilometres) from the US facility, marking the first overseas base for Beijing's rapidly growing military.White said she was
"confident" that whoever had shone the high-powered lasers was Chinese.Officials told The Wall Street Journal the laser likely came from the
Chinese base.The Federal Aviation Administration last month published a warning to pilots to use extreme caution in the area."There have
been multiple lazing events involving a high-power laser in the vicinity," the warning reads.(This story has not been edited by staff and
is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
