By Matthew Knott
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of keeping Australians in the dark about the Chinese navy’s failure to warn they would conduct live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea, as the head of the Australian Defence Force revealed the military only learnt about the drills 40 minutes after they began.
It took the New Zealand Navy, which was monitoring the Chinese task force of three ships, a further 50 minutes to inform the Australian Defence Force about the surprise drills, prompting sharp questions from across the political divide about the trans-Tasman allies’ surveillance capabilities.
People’s Liberation Army-Navy Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi, and Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu in the Tasman Sea.Credit: Australian Defence Force
Two weeks after the Chinese flotilla was first spotted north of Australia, Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie accused Beijing of engaging in “psychological warfare” while former Home Affairs boss Mike Pezzullo said China had undertaken a “brazen rehearsal for a naval land missile attack mission against eastern Australia”.
The ADF should have stalked the Chinese ships with jets and submarines and made clear they were in the “kill zone”, Pezzullo said in a dramatic intervention in the debate.
Defence Force chief David Johnston said it was possible a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine was travelling with the flotilla of three ships after Hastie said it was a “safe assumption” this was the case.
Airservices Australia officials revealed earlier this week that they only found out about the live-firing exercise on Friday after a midair alert by a Virgin Australia pilot flying through the area who heard a broadcast from the Chinese ships.
Johnston told Senate estimates hearings on Wednesday that the Australian military received no direct warning from the Chinese Navy and only discovered what was happening when Airservices Australia passed on the Virgin pilot’s message 10 minutes after they were alerted.
It took a further 50 minutes for the New Zealand Navy to contact the Australian military, at 11.01am.
Liberal senator James Paterson accused Albanese of misleading Australians by saying “it is the case that the notice was given” on Friday and in similar comments on Saturday.
“It’s not really notification of an upcoming exercise if we only find out about it after it has commenced, is it?” Paterson asked.
Johnston described the task group’s behaviour as “clearly disruptive” and “irresponsible”, stressing the Australian Navy would not behave similarly in an area such as the South China Sea.
Defence Minister Richard Marles told 3AW on Wednesday afternoon that the Chinese Navy was “technically” in compliance with international law but added: “The kind of notice that was given by the Chinese was not satisfactory.”
He said he had authorised the ADF to conduct an “unprecedented level of surveillance” of the ships – now sailing off Tasmania – stressing that such extensive monitoring had “never been done before”.
Paterson said he was surprised it had taken up to 90 minutes for New Zealand to inform Australia about the live-fire exercise, saying he believed most Australians would expect such communication would be “direct and immediate”.
People’s Liberation Army-Navy Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu, and Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi.Credit: Australian Defence Force
Greens senator David Shoebridge said: “I do find it hard to understand how it takes longer to get a report from probably our closest friend through their military channels than through a Virgin pilot and civil aviation authorities.”
Shoebridge later expressed shock that the ADF had not deployed a military plane to pick up civil emergency frequency messages, and had to rely on a Virgin pilot telling Airservices Australia.
Johnston said it would be too expensive for the ADF to deploy such assets in international waters.
Pezzullo, who served as the Defence Department’s deputy secretary for strategy, said the debate over the timing of China’s notification was a distraction from the “major strategic problem” Australia faces.
“China has just conducted a brazen rehearsal for a naval land missile attack mission against eastern Australia,” the noted defence hawk said, describing the drills as a “sinister attempt to intimidate us”.
“We should have said that we will not be intimidated and if we had to, we would defend ourselves, including against a naval surface action group that was equipped with long-range land attack missiles,” said Pezzullo, who was removed from his Home Affairs post after an independent inquiry found he breached the government’s code of conduct through texts with a Liberal powerbroker.
“We should have stalked the task group with F-35s and submarines, and made it clear that it was within our killing zone.”
Discussing why the Chinese task group had travelled so far, Defence Department Secretary Greg Moriarty told the hearings: “The Chinese are signalling, they are practising and rehearsing, and they are collecting.”
Labor senator Jenny McAllister, representing the government at the hearings, said: “The government has been very clear that the notification [from the Chinese Navy] fell short of expectations.
“It is our practice ... to provide 24 to 48 hours’ notice for live-fire exercises to allow other affected parties to manage safety issues and conduct planning.”
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