Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
Minister of Defense
England
John Healey said a spy ship
Russia
has fired a laser at the military flying over British waters.
In a press conference on Wednesday (19/11), Healey said the incident occurred when Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots were monitoring the Russian Yantar ship entering British waters.
The Yantar ship has been operating in British waters for the past few weeks.The UK also deployed a Royal Navy frigate and a number of RAF P8 aircraft to monitor and track Yantar.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
“Yantar fired a laser at our pilot,” Healey said, as quoted by Politico.
“Russia’s actions are truly dangerous,” he continued.
Healey threatened that if the Yantar returned, especially to southern British waters, London would not remain silent.
“My message to Russia and to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin: We see you. We know what you are doing. If Yantar passes south this week, we are ready (to respond),” he concluded.
In January, the Russian Yantar ship also entered British territorial waters.According to Healey, Russia deployed Yantar to obtain intelligence information and map British undersea cables.
Healey believes the Yantar ships were designed to harm British and allied underwater infrastructure.The reason is, the ship has the ability to carry out surveillance and sabotage.
The Russian Embassy in England has responded to Healey’s statement.The embassy said the British government had behaved in a “Russophobic” manner and “fostered militaristic hysteria”.
“We have noted another provocative statement from British Defense Minister John Healey. This time, the reason is the activity of the Russian oceanographic research vessel, Yantar, in international waters,” the Russian Embassy said in a statement.
“The endless accusations and suspicions of British leaders only make us smile. Our country’s actions do not affect British interests and are not aimed at undermining security. We are not interested in British underwater communications,” the Russian Embassy continued, as quoted
The Guardian
.
The Russian embassy also stressed that Britain’s anti-Russian stance and fueling hysteria contributed to “the further degradation of European security and created conditions for a new dangerous situation.”
(blq/dna)
Read More: VIDEO: Falling Tree Hits the Roof of the MRT Underground Line
