An Australian diver who suffered from hearing loss accuses China

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that a Chinese warship used sonar pulses in an unsafe and unprofessional manner. Sydney Morning Herald.

Sonar devices are used to estimate the distance to underwater objects by sending out high-frequency pulsating sound waves that can be harmful to the human ear.

The event occurred Earlier this week when Australian divers removed fishing nets from the propeller of the frigate HMAS Toowoomba. The ship was in international waters off Japan.

The Defense Minister stressed the importance of “all countries, including China,” carrying out their military operations in a safe manner.

According to the Australian government, the frigate notified the Chinese ship of the dive in advance.

– Despite understanding Toowoomba’s communications, the Chinese ship continued to approach, says Richard Marles.

Does not appear How many divers were in the water in connection with the incident, but according to Australian Defense, none of the divers’ hearing was seriously damaged.

Medical evaluations conducted after the divers left the water showed that they sustained minor injuries, most likely due to exposure to sonar pulses from the Chinese ship.

The opposition in Australia is criticizing the fact that the government has not yet reported the incident, the Sydney Morning Herald writes. This came when the country’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an economic forum a few days after the incident.