Germany summoned the Chinese ambassador to the foreign ministry on Tuesday after saying China's military had laser-targeted a German aircraft taking part in an EU operation in the Red Sea, an account Beijing denied.

The Chinese military employed a laser targeting a German aircraft in the EU operation #ASPIDES. Endangering German personnel & disrupting the operation is entirely unacceptable. The Chinese ambassador was summoned to the Federal Foreign Office today.

Germany has accused the Chinese military of targeting a German spy plane with a laser in the Gulf region. The German foreign ministry said the incident involved an aircraft taking part in Aspides, an EU mission to defend trade ships in the Red Sea from Houthi rocket attacks.