Australia and New Zealand are closely monitoring three Chinese Navy warships operating in international waters off Australia’s east coast, officials said Thursday.
The vessels—the naval frigate Hengyang, cruiser Zunyi, and replenishment vessel Weishanhu—were first detected northeast of Queensland last week and have since been observed traveling south. The Financial Times reported that the ships were located 150 nautical miles (278 km) east of Sydney.
In a television interview, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said Australian navy ships and air force planes are monitoring the movement of the vessels.
“This is not unprecedented, but it is unusual,” Marles said. “We are keeping a close watch on them, and we will ensure we are surveilling every move they make.”
Marles said the vessels are “not a threat” and they were “engaging in accordance with international law.”
“They’re entitled to be where they are; Australia is also entitled to be prudent and we are monitoring very closely what the activities of the task group are,” Marles said.
New Zealand’s Defense Minister Judith Collins also acknowledged her country’s involvement in monitoring the 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,” Collins said. “We will continue to monitor these vessels.”
The Chinese government has not yet issued an official response regarding the task force’s movements.
Bulgarian Military notes that while Chinese naval vessels have previously been sighted in the Pacific, including near U.S. territories like Guam and Hawaii, the recent incident marks the first deployment of Chinese warships near the Australian mainland.
The presence of Chinese warships off Australia coincides with recent tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Last week, an Australian P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft was involved in an incident with a Chinese J-16 fighter jet over the South China Sea, where the Chinese aircraft released flares in close proximity.
The detection of Chinese warships off the east coast comes after Australia’s intelligence chief warned that several foreign intelligence services are “relentlessly” seeking classified details about Australia’s military capabilities, including its nuclear submarine deal with the United States and the United Kingdom under the AUKUS agreement.
