The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) war ships that have been sailing down the coast in the past week have now entered Australia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coast of Tasmania.
A special economic zone, according to the United Nationals Convention of the Law of the Sea, is a region in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources in that area.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) Task Group 107, comprised of the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class Cruiser Zunyi, and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu, is operating about 160 nautical miles (296 kilometres) east of Hobart, inside of Australia’s EEZ, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) announced in a statement on Feb. 25.
Task Group 107 re-entered Australia’s EEZ in the early hours of the morning.
“Defence continues to monitor the Task Group while it remains in the vicinity of Australia’s maritime approaches, and is coordinating closely with the New Zealand Defence Force,” the ADF said in a statement.
“Australia expects all militaries operating in the region to engage transparently, maintain the highest standards of safety and professionalism, and we encourage all states to maintain open communication to ensure their actions support regional security and stability.
“We respect the right of all states under international law to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace, just as we expect others to respect our right to do the same.”
Australia’s EEZ comprises an area up to 200 nautical miles (about 370 kilometres) from the nation’s coastline.
The latest announcement comes days after the ships were monitored off the coast of Sydney.
Uncertainty Over Submarine Presence
Australia’s defence chief, Admiral David Johnson, told a parliamentary hearing on Feb. 25 that the presence of a submarine was possible with the fleet, but it wasn’t possible to confirm with certainty.“I don’t know whether there is a submarine with them. It is possible. Task groups occasionally do deploy with submarines but not always. I can’t be definitive whether that’s the case,” he said.
Johnston said the notice provided by Beijing around its activities was “inadequate,” with no warning of live firing exercises conducted on Friday and Saturday.
“The conduct of their activities was clearly disruptive,” he said.
“It doesn’t demonstrate the best practice that we would expect from mariners operating in that region, so it sure falls short of the standard that we apply to ourselves. And in that sense, it was irresponsible.”
Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty said Beijing was “practising and rehearsing, and they are collecting.”
