On Thursday, Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison confirmed the presence of a Chinese ship in waters off the Australian coast in August and September this year, saying his government was aware of the deployment in the country’s economic zone.
Morrison said the ship did not break any international law and “they can be in those areas just like we can be in the South China Sea.” Accordingly, no formal complaint has been registered against the ship, as it operated as per international maritime law. Under the United Nations (UN) freedom of navigation rules, foreign vessels can enter another country’s exclusive economic zones. “But don’t think for a second that we were not keeping an eye on them as they were seeking to keep an eye on us,” Morrison said.
He stressed that the ship’s presence highlighted the nature of geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific. “It does mean that Australia has to be on its guard, and Australia has to stand up to those who want to coerce us…and slap trade sanctions on things like our wine, and our government is standing up to that,” Morrison remarked.
He also acknowledged the accusations levelled against him for taking a strong military stance against China. In this regard, Morrison said, “You need strength to take Australia through a time like this. There is never a time for weakness when it comes to leading a federal government, particularly at a time when you are dealing with these very significant security issues and the economic challenges that we have.”
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews also confirmed that the government had monitored the ship’s movement through the Torres Strait and down the eastern coastline. “In this case, that particular vessel was in our exclusive economic zone, not in territorial waters as such, but we actually do respect the right of sovereign nations to behave in a manner that is lawful,” Andrews said.
Likewise, a defence ministry spokesperson also said they knew China’s People’s Liberation Army intelligence ship Yuhengxing was deployed off Australia’s east coast to gather intelligence in August this year.
The Daily Telegraph first reported on Friday that a Chinese ship had been circling off the coast of Australia for three weeks in August and September and collecting intelligence while travelling past critical military installations. It was a Dongdiao-class spy ship capable of monitoring communications, radar signals, and the electromagnetic spectrum.
Defence sources told The Daily Telegraph that the ship entered Australia’s 200km exclusive economic zone off the coast of Darwin in August and since then has been traversing close to the coastline.
Earlier, Defence Minister Peter Dutton raised the alarm over another Chinese surveillance ship passing near Queensland to monitor military exercises between Australia and the United States (US). Dutton said, “[The ship] will be involved in intelligence collection, signals collection. They’ll be looking to survey different attributes and have that general presence—let us know that they’re there.” He added that people must have a clear picture of Chinese activity in the Indo-Pacific.
China has routinely sent surveillance ships to monitor war exercises near Australia, including in 2017 and 2019. However, the presence of a Chinese spy ship off the coast of Australia is unusual, as there were no military exercises or war games taking place at the time.
PM Morrison Confirms Presence of Chinese Spy Ship in Australian Waters
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the presence of a Chinese surveillance ship off the coast of Australia and highlighted the simmering tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.
November 26, 2021
IMAGE SOURCE: THE INDIAN NATION