Australia, New Zealand monitor ‘unusual’ movement of three Chinese warships

According to their respective defense ministers, Australia and New Zealand are keeping an eye on the “unusual” presence of a group of Chinese naval vessels off the Australian eastern coast.

A frigate, a cruiser, and a supply tanker were all discovered last week in waters off mainland Australia, making it three Chinese navy vessels.

Since then, the warships have established a course that would lead them to Australia’s eastern coast, and they are reportedly 150 nautical miles (278 kilometers) 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 said in a television interview.

“It’s not unprecedented. However, Marles referred to it as an unusual event, stating that the vessels were “engaging in accordance with international law” and were “not a threat.”

We have a right to be prudent and make sure that we are surveilling them, which is what we are doing, just as they have a right to be in international waters, he added.

Judith Collins, the defense minister for New Zealand, claimed that the country’s defense forces were also monitoring the Chinese ships.

The Chinese government has not disclosed to us why this task force has been stationed in our region, and it has not disclosed its future plans, according to Collins.

“We will continue to monitor these vessels”, she said.

Following a dispute last week between a Chinese fighter jet and an Australian military aircraft, Australia and China exchanged barbs about the appearance of the vessels.

Beijing was criticized by Canberra for its “unsafe” military behavior, accusing an Australian military base of colliding with a Chinese jet while it was patrolling the South China Sea. Beijing responded quickly, accusing the Australian plane of “violating Chinese sovereignty and putting national security at risk.”

The most recent tense encounter between China and Australia in the Asia Pacific region’s increasingly tense airspace and shipping lanes was the latest.

In 2024, a Chinese jet was accused of dropping flares across the flight path of an Australian Seahawk helicopter in international airspace.

A Chinese destroyer was charged with using sonar pulses to bombard submerged Australian navy divers off Japan in 2023, resulting in minor injuries.