Editorial | Exercise by China’s PLA Navy sends timely reminder
Reaction to warships in Tasman Sea appears excessive, particularly when Australia dispatches forces to the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea
It is not uncommon for Australia and New Zealand to send warships through the Taiwan Strait or into the South China Sea, including a joint mission in the strait with a Japanese ship last September. But a People’s Liberation Army Navy mission into international waters between Australia and New Zealand, further south than before, including a live-fire exercise off the Australian coast, has aroused concern and even been described as an act of intimidation.
Moreover, it has been reported that the Australian Defence Force did not know about the live-fire drill near a civil aviation corridor until alerted by a commercial airline pilot. This is despite the assertion that the defence force had been tracking the flotilla of three warships.
Beijing has accused Canberra of “hyping up” the drills with claims that inadequate notice was given. Best practice is to tell relevant parties 24 hours in advance, and the defence ministry in Beijing maintains adequate notice was given.
In that regard, the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance between the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have often not given Beijing the courtesy of advance notice of operations in waters near China.
Overreaction to the sudden presence of Chinese warships in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand may have fanned understandable public disquiet, even though it is legal for any navy to sail the high seas, and even enter another country’s exclusive economic zone, which the Chinese ships apparently did.