Defense minister dismisses opposition criticism of Chinese warships in Australian waters as legal

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) – Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles has urged people to take a "deep breath" about Chinese warships in Australian waters, saying their presence in the Tasman Sea was based on legal principles, local media reported on Thursday.

“It's really important that we take a deep breath here. Our touchstone has to be international law,” Marles was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as saying.

Australia said on Wednesday that the three Chinese warships that were involved in live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea on Friday—a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand—last week reentered its Exclusive Economic Zone and were near Tasmania.

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 Chinese naval group reportedly passed Tasmania and entered the Great Australian Bight on Thursday morning, approximately 548 kilometers (340 miles) west of Hobart.

The opposition has attacked the ruling Labour Party over the Chinese warships, criticizing the government's response while ignoring strategic implications.

Marles emphasized that the "frequency" of Australian vessels near China is greater than that of Chinese vessels near the country, highlighting the importance of the legal principle given the large number of Australian vessels sailing near China.

The defense minister said Canberra “relies heavily on international law to be there, and it matters that we are there because that is where our trade routes are,” in regards to Australia’s close naval presence to China, adding that it is the reason why “international law has to be Australia’s touchstone.”