China on Sunday criticized Australia, a United States ally in the South Pacific Ocean, for making what it called “unfounded claims” over its naval drills near the country last week.
Newsweek has reached out to the Australian Defense Force and Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Why It Matters
According to the Pentagon, China has the world’s largest navy by hull count with more than 370 vessels and has expanded its naval reach and presence globally, including a visit by two destroyers to Vanuatu, an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, last October.
The recent Chinese naval exercises took place in international waters between Australia and its closest neighbor, New Zealand. Both nations signed a security treaty with the U.S. in 1951 and are members of the America-led intelligence-sharing alliance the Five Eyes.
Australian Defense Department
What To Know
Regarding Australia’s claims of not being notified about the live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea, Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said in a statement that the “lawful military exercises” were held with repeated safety notices that had been issued in advance.
Wu accused Australia of “unjustly” criticizing China and “deliberately” exaggerating the issue, despite being fully aware that China’s actions were in accordance with international law, adding that the Chinese military is “astonished and strongly dissatisfied with this.”
The Chinese naval task group, consisting of destroyer CNS Zunyi, frigate CNS Hengyang and replenishment vessel CNS Weishanhu, held the exercise 340 nautical miles southeast of Sydney, prompting airlines to divert flights, avoiding the airspace around them.
The location was outside Australia’s territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles from its shores. The Chinese three-ship flotilla has been tracked by the Australian and New Zealand forces since February 13 as it approached from the north through the Philippines and Indonesia.
Judith Collins, the defense minister of New Zealand, told Radio New Zealand on Monday that the Chinese ships have sailed further south and are located “around 280 nautical miles east of Tasmania,” an Australian island to the southeast of the mainland.
Collins also said the Chinese military’s warning to civilian flights was “a couple of hours” notice. “[This] opposed to what we would consider best practice, which is 12 to 24 hours’ notice so that aircraft are not having to be quickly diverted when they’re on the wing.”
What People Are Saying
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian, in a statement on Sunday: “China hopes Australia will approach the relations between the two countries and their militaries with an objective and rational attitude, show more sincerity and professionalism, and make genuine efforts to contribute to the stable development of these ties.”
New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins told Radio New Zealand on Monday: “We don’t know what their [the Chinese naval vessels] intention is, but we’re taking them at face value that they are undertaking normal transits when it comes to the [United Nations] Convention on the Law of the Sea, that they’re not breaking the law. But as we’ve said, it is always better to give a lot more notice when it comes to live firing.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Chinese flotilla will conduct further exercises and even circumnavigate Australia, as it is now reportedly operating near Tasmania.
