- Chinese military boats were spotted off Sydney
Chinese warships have been spotted just 150 nautical miles off Australia’s east coast in an unprecedented show of force from Beijing.
Three ships from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) were spotted about 277 kilometres off Sydney on Wednesday.
Two Australian navy ships trailed the vessels as they reached the southernmost point on the eastern coast Chinese warships have travelled, outside of official port visits.
‘Defence is monitoring the People’s Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class Cruiser named Zunyi and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu, which continue to operate to the east of Australia,’ the Australian Defence Force (ADF) said in a statement on Wednesday night.
It’s the second time within a week the Chinese warships have been spotted off Australia’s coast.
The ADF confirmed last Thursday that officials were monitoring a People’s Liberation Army-Navy frigate, cruiser and replenishment vessel in the Coral Sea.
It issued a rare statement last Thursday, saying it was ‘aware of a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) task group operating to the north east of Australia’.
‘Defence routinely monitors all maritime traffic in our Exclusive Economic Zone and maritime approaches,’ it said.
‘The vessels travelled through Southeast Asia, before entering Australia’s maritime approaches. One of the vessels, the Hengyang, transited the waters to Australia’s north.
Chinese warships have again been spotted off Australia’s east coast. Pictured is The People’s Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang in the Coral Sea last week
Experts have described the latest Chinese warship sighting as a warning from Beijing
‘Australia respects the rights of all states to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, just as we expect others to respect Australia’s right to do the same.
‘Defence will continue to monitor the activities of the task group in Australia’s maritime approaches with a combination of capabilities, including air and maritime assets.’
However, the ADF did not share news the Chinese military vessels had travelled south.
While the ships are not in breach of international law, former Australian naval officer said the latest sighting should serve as a warning to Australia.
‘It is of course sending a message to Australia’s about the PLA-N’s capability,’ UNSW Canberra adjunct fellow Jennifer Parker told The Australian.
‘We must become accustomed to these kind of operations. The lesson here is China has a bluewater capability, a point we already knew.
‘In the event of crisis or conflict, we should expect more operations in our region and likely interdiction of our maritime trade. This is why Australia should invest in a strong navy.’
Defence Minister Richard Marles last week said the government was ‘responding in a serious way’ to the presence of the military ships, even though China was ‘perfectly in accordance with international law’.
‘I’ve ordered a deployment of both navy and air force assets to make sure that we are shadowing this to have a clear understanding of what’s going on,’ he said.
More to come.
