‘Growing appetite’: Chinese warships coming back to Aus, defence expert warns
A defence expert believes reports of another Chinese flotilla on its way to Australia are credible and it’s part of a playbook to “intimidate” the nation.
A Chinese flotilla is headed for Australian shores to further “intimidate” the nation after live fire drills were held off the NSW coast earlier this year, a defence expert says.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is tracking a fleet of Chinese ships that could reach Australia before the end of the year, anonymous sources told The Australian Financial Review on Thursday.
Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge believed the report was credible and said it “looks like Chinese navy ships are on their way to our backyard again”.
“It’s going to display China’s growing appetite to intimidate us close to home, and show our defence organisation’s failure to equip our navy with enough ships or act with any urgency,” Mr Shoebridge told news.com.au.
Shadow Minister for Defence Angus Taylor said, “reports of another flotilla headed for our region are cause for concern”.
“Australia is entering the most challenging strategic environment since the Second World War. Across the Indo-Pacific, the Chinese Communist Party is expanding its military footprint, testing boundaries, and projecting power in ways designed to intimidate and undermine the rules-based order,” Mr Taylor said.
“Defence officials have been clear: the live-fire exercise and the recent circumnavigation of Australia are not one-off events. They’re part of an emerging pattern of provocations Australians cannot ignore.”
The ADF did not respond specifically to the report, saying only in a statement: “Australia maintains high situational awareness across our immediate region and routinely monitors all maritime and air traffic in Australia’s near approaches.”
Live fire drills casued flight chaos
Friday’s revelation comes after three Chinese warships conducted live fire drills 640 kilometres off the south coast of New South Wales in February, disrupting dozens of commercial flights between Australia and New Zealand.
Australian officials said Beijing failed to give satisfactory notice, and commercial planes weren’t aware of the drills until a broadcast from the ships notified them.
“We weren’t notified by China, we became aware of the issue during the course of the day,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said at the time.
“What China did was put out a notification that it was intending to engage in live fire, and by that I mean a broadcast that was picked up by airlines, literally commercial planes that were flying across the Tasman.”
China’s defence ministry claimed it had issued repeated safety notices in advance and described Australia’s complaints as “unreasonable” and “hyped up”.
The Australian and New Zealand navies then worked together to track the warships as they continued moving down Australia’s coast - the farthest south the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had ever ventured.
The saga was embarrassing for the Albanese government, which has focused on stabilising relations after Australia incensed Beijing by calling for an inquiry into the origins of Covid.
News.com.au has contacted Mr Marles for comment.
