3 Chinese warships reenter Australian waters, claims Canberra

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Australia said on Wednesday that the three Chinese warships that were involved in live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea—a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand—last week have reentered its Exclusive Economic Zone and are now near Tasmania.

The Defense Department said it is working with New Zealand's military to jointly track the warships, which are operating about 250 kilometers (155.3 miles) south of Tasmanian capital Hobart, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

The latest development comes as Australian military officials admitted that they only became aware of the exercises 40 minutes after China's navy opened a "window" for live-fire exercises on Friday.

Defense Chief Admiral David Johnston faced questions in the Senate over why it was a Virgin Australia Airline pilot, who was the first to alert authorities about Beijing's live-fire exercises on Friday, which had forced airlines to divert flights.

The exclusive economic zone is a maritime area that extends from 22 kilometers (13.6 miles) to 370 kilometers (230 miles) from the Australian coastline, over which Canberra has jurisdiction and sovereign rights.

The defense chief also confirmed that Canberra was not given any advance notice of China's live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea.

When asked if the Chinese navy's behavior could be described as "provocative," Johnston said he would describe it as "irresponsible" and "disruptive."

Defense officials believe a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine could be accompanying the task force for at least part of its deployment, according to the ABC.

The Defense Force chief, however, told the Senate that it was not clear if a Chinese submarine was in waters near Australia.

"I don't know whether there is a submarine with them; it is possible; task groups occasionally do deploy with submarines but not always," he said.