Chinese state media on Saturday revealed details about the nation’s unprecedented naval circumnavigation of Australia, a key United States ally in the South Pacific Ocean.
Newsweek has emailed the Australian military for comment outside of working hours.
Why It Matters
China, which has the largest navy in the world by hull count with over 370 vessels in service, is expanding its military reach and presence around the world, including in the South Pacific, where it and its competitor, the U.S., are jostling for influence.
Australia has an important role in Washington’s strategy toward the Indo-Pacific region. It forms part of the U.S.-led strategic alignment known as Quad with India and Japan, as well as being a member of the America-led intelligence-sharing alliance the Five Eyes.
What To Know
The Chinese naval task group, consisting of the destroyer CNS Zunyi, frigate CNS Hengyang, and replenishment ship CNS Weishanhu, sailed over 12,000 nautical miles during a recent deployment, state-run China Central Television reported.
A Newsweek map shows the Chinese task group began its deployment in early February near the Philippines. It transited Australia clockwise from mid-February to early March, traveling from the eastern seaboard to the western seaboard.
The task group tested the ability to maintain an “actual combat alert status,” as well as to conduct long-term operations. A naval officer assigned to the Zunyi claimed that the flotilla practiced the “actual use of weapons,” according to the report.
While operating off the east coast of Australia, the Chinese flotilla held a war game, which had prompted airlines to divert flights. The Chinese ambassador to Australia said it is normal for China to send its vessels to the area to conduct activities as a major power.
It is not immediately clear if the naval task group has returned to China. Its last reported position was in the Sunda Strait, an Indonesian waterway, on March 9. It was on a northward voyage after passing through waters off the Australian west coast.
During an interview on March 12, the Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the country’s military had “totally shadowed” the Chinese naval vessels when they were in the vicinity of Australia.
“We’re completely clear about what they were doing,” he said.
Australian Defense Department
What People Are Saying
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in an interview on March 12: “We shadowed this [Chinese] Task Group from the moment that it came into Australian waters in an unprecedented level of surveillance. So, we know exactly what they did, exactly what their configurations were, what exercises they were practicing.”
Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said at a press conference on February 27: “Relevant operations carried out by the [People’s Liberation Army] naval task group on high seas are totally in line with international law.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Chinese navy will dispatch another task group to the South Pacific in the short term. A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine was sent to Australia in late February while the Chinese naval vessels sailed around the country.
