Australia and New Zealand are watching a Chinese naval action squad in the Sea of Tasman, expressing uncomfortable the presence of unjustified warships in the unusual southern waters.
The Chinese fleet, which includes the Renhai category, and a frigate and a supply ship, was initially monitored near the beaches of northeastern Australia, after that to 150 nautical miles east of Sydney, outside the territorial waters but within its exclusive economic zone, as mentioned by financial times .
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that while Chinese ships operate within the legal limits, their activities were under a close note.
“We are closely watching, and we will be sure that we are watching every step,” Marles said in a television interview. He noted that while the Chinese maritime presence in the region was not unprecedented, the ships of this caliber rarely start in the far south.
New Zealand defense minister, Judith Collins, has expressed concern about the Chinese government’s lack of communication regarding the mission goals and future plans. “I have informed her future plans,” Collins told Witzton’s correspondents, according to the New Zealand Herrald.
One of the ships, Zunyi, is a Renhai category, which the American Maritime Institute described as “one of the most amazing warships on his feet.” The deployment of such an armed ship with weapons indicates that China shows its marine power, according to Colin Koh, an older colleague at Nianang Technological University in Singapore.
“It is supposed to refer to Australia and the United States that the PLA will not be bound in movements and procedures,” Koh said, according to the New York Times, according to the New York Times.
Last week, a Chinese fighter plane faced a tense meeting with an Australian surveillance plane over the South China Sea. The Australian Defense Forces accused China of “unsafe and unprofessional behavior”, while China claimed that Australia was participating in provocation.
In September, China launched a ballistic missile between the continents that landed in the Pacific Ocean, a step that Judith Collins described as contributing to increasing regional tensions.
The most prominent maritime security expert from La Trope University is that China’s movements can be the process of collecting intelligence or a reference to Australia about its increasing maritime presence.
“What is the Chinese navy in the far south? This is the thing that causes anxiety. Is this smart gathering? Does this really refer to Australia that the Chinese are also able to exist freely in these areas?” The New York Times reported.
Australia and New Zealand response
The Australian Defense Force is watching ships from the sea and air, while New Zealand has deployed to coordinate monitoring efforts with Australia.
Newsweek, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense in Australia, said that although Australia respects the rights of all states to work in international waters, it is still cautious about the growing maritime arrival in China.
“Australia respects the rights of all states to exercise freedom of navigation and development in international waters and air field, under international law, especially the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea,” the spokesman said.
As of now, it is still unclear how long Chinese marine tasks group It will remain in the Sea of Tasman or where it will go after that. The Chinese government media has already referred to similar tasks in the name of “remote combat training” in the Pacific Ocean.
Judith Collins from New Zealand described the presence of high -end Chinese warships from the south as an “important” development, adding that both Australia and New Zealand will continue joint monitoring efforts.
