Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned the aiming of a laser from a Chinese naval vessel at an Australian aircraft as an "act of intimidation".
The Australian Defence Force said in a statement that an an Australian P-8A Poseidon aircraft detected that it was being illuminated by a laser coming from a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) ship in the Arafura Sea to the north of Australia on February 17.
Mr Morrison said while the incident was of concern, it was not a surprise to see Chinese vessels in the area.
"We've had vessels off our coast, off the Queensland coast, keeping a close watch on Australia. And I can assure you, we keep a close watch on them," he said.
"I'm very concerned about the actions, though, of using the lasers on an Australian surveillance aircraft. That is, I can see it no other way than an act of intimidation, one that was unprovoked, unwarranted, and Australia will never accept such acts of intimidation."
While the incident did not take place in Australian waters, it was in Australia's exclusive economic zone.
Exclusive economic zones are international waters for the purpose of movement, but the nation to whom the zone belongs has special rights over the resources there.
"I have no doubt that it had been an Australian vessel, or a British vessel, American vessel, a French vessel, a Japanese vessel for that matter, or German, that was going through a similar waters up in the South China Sea, and that was done to a Chinese surveillance aircraft, then I think people can guess about what reaction to that would have been," Mr Morrison said.
"So it was a dangerous act."
He said Australia was addressing the "reckless and irresponsible act" through diplomatic and defence channels.
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"Acts like this have the potential to endanger lives," the ADF said in its statement.
"We strongly condemn unprofessional and unsafe military conduct.
"These actions could have endangered the safety and lives of the ADF personnel.
"Such actions are not in keeping with the standards we expect of professional militaries."
The ADF said the Chinese ship was in the Arafura Sea with one other PLA-N vessel, and that both have now arrived in the Coral Sea after moving through the Torres Strait.