Defence ministers from Australia and New Zealand are monitoring the “unusual” movement of three Chinese naval vessels along Australia’s eastern seaboard.
Last week, three Chinese naval ships, including a frigate, a cruiser, and a supply tanker, were observed in waters off mainland Australia.
Since then, the warships have been charting a course down the eastern coast of Australia, with reports placing them 150 nautical miles (278km) to the east of Sydney.
“We are keeping a close watch on them, and we will make sure we are watching every move,” Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles stated in a television interview.
Marles emphasised that the vessels posed “not a threat” and were “engaging in accordance with international law.”
“It’s not unprecedented. But it is an unusual event,” he noted. “And just as they have a right to be in international waters, which is what they are doing, we have a right to be prudent and to make sure that we are surveilling them, which is what we are doing.”
New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins informed Radio New Zealand that the nation’s defence forces were also monitoring the Chinese ships.
“We have not been informed by the Chinese government why this task group has been deployed into our region, and we have not been informed what its future plans are. We will continue to monitor these vessels,” she affirmed.
The appearance of these vessels follows a recent exchange of accusations between Australia and China regarding an incident involving a Chinese fighter jet and an Australian military aircraft.
Canberra criticised Beijing for “unsafe” military conduct, alleging that the Chinese jet dropped flares near an Australian air force plane that was patrolling the South China Sea. Beijing quickly retorted, accusing the Australian plane of “violating Chinese sovereignty and endangering Chinese national security.”
This incident marks the most recent in a series of tense encounters between China and Australia within the increasingly contested airspace and shipping lanes of the Asia Pacific region.