This is the same country hosting the 2008 Olympics. Of course, the intent of such laser must – nay, are undeniably and solely used – for peaceful purposes:
The document said that China could blind American satellites with a ground-based laser firing a beam of light to prevent spy photography as they pass over China.
According to senior American officials: ‘China not only has the capability, but has exercised it.’ American satellites like the giant Keyhole craft have come under attack ‘several times’ in recent years.
Although the Chinese tests do not aim to destroy American satellites, the laser attacks could make them useless over Chinese territory.
The American military has been so alarmed by the Chinese activity that it has begun test attacks against its own satellites to determine the severity of the threat.
The soft, fuzzy kind of laser beams… clearly, someone has learned a lesson from Iraq, namely that the international community will not intervene in a nations internal affairs based on a presumed threat. What you can’t see, won’t hurt you (or them)…