Chinese warships make ‘unusual’ voyage near US ally Australia

Australia is “keeping close watch on” Chinese military ships traversing waters off its coast, Richard Marles, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense, noted during an interview on Sky News Australia.

Marles said that the ships “have been abiding by international law,” though he described the situation as “not unprecedented, but an unusual event.” 

He said that while the ships have the right to be located in international waters, Australia has the right to surveil the ships.

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“Defence is aware of a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) task group operating to the north east of Australia,” a Feb. 13 Australian Department of Defense statement noted. “Defence can confirm the Chinese vessels are the PLA-N Jiangkai-class frigate named Hengyang; the PLA-N Renhai cruiser named Zunyi and the PLA-N Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu.

“Defence routinely monitors all maritime traffic in our Exclusive Economic Zone and maritime approaches. 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,” the statement noted.

The Financial Times recently reported that Australia’s navy had been shadowing China’s vessels 150 nautical miles east of Sydney, Australia.

New Zealand’s military was monitoring China’s vessels “in coordination with Australia,” New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins indicated in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

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“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,” she noted, according to the AP. “We will continue to monitor these vessels.”

A Chinese fighter plane released flares near a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft earlier this month, Australia’s Defense Department said in another Feb. 13 statement.

“On 11 February 2025, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft conducting a routine maritime surveillance patrol in the South China Sea experienced an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with a PLA-AF J-16 fighter aircraft,” the statement notes.

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“The PLA-AF aircraft released flares in close proximity to the RAAF P-8A aircraft. This was an unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre that posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel,” though Australia’s plane andDefense Force personnel were not harmed during the incident, the statement indicated.