On Friday, Chinese warships that have been cruising south along Australia’s east coast reportedly announced their intention to hold live fire drills in international waters between Australia and New Zealand.
This prompted commercial flights to reroute and caused tension between the two nations.
According to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the three naval vessels—among them one of the most potent battleships in the Chinese navy’s fleet—were not within Australia’s exclusive economic zone at the time of the exercises.
Australian officials say they discovered the ships in the area for the first time last week.
The Australian and New Zealand forces were keeping a tight eye on the Chinese vessels, even though they seemed to have acted in compliance with international law, Mr. Albanese said. According to him, it was unclear at first what kind of live fire drills were held on Friday.
The warships’ unexpected arrival close to Australian territorial seas, thousands of miles from the Chinese mainland, has been described by analysts as a show of power.
A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry in Beijing referred to the ships’ operations as “far seas exercises.” The Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army, which is also in charge of the navy’s operations in the South China Sea, organized them.
In a statement, Airservices Australia, which oversees regional air traffic, said it had radioed pilots and airlines with scheduled flights to steer clear of certain areas of the Tasman Sea “as a precaution.”
Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, expressed her concern about the lack of “transparency” surrounding the drills and the warning that was given on Friday. She promised to bring up the issue with Wang Yi, her colleague.
They were supposed to meet at the G20 gathering in South Africa later on Friday.
Last week, the three ships—a supply vessel, a frigate, and a guided missile cruiser—were initially spotted near the northeastern coast of Australia.
They traveled through waters this week that are within Australia’s exclusive economic zone but far beyond its territorial waters, some 150 nautical miles from Sydney.
[READ MORE: Trump Mocks Canada as ’51st State’ Ahead of Grudge Hockey Match]
