Defence force had 30-minute wait until told about Chinese live-fire drills

The Australian military learned about the Chinese warships conducting live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea only 30 minutes before the exercises began. They were alerted to the situation by civil aviation officials. Australian Defence Force Chief Admiral David Johnston revealed that the New Zealand military had been monitoring the three Chinese warships but only informed the Australian Defence Force about the exercises an hour later.

Australian air services revealed on Monday that a Virgin Australia pilot was the first to spot the three Chinese warships off the east coast of Australia late last week. Johnston stated at a Senate estimates hearing that the Australian Defence Force did not receive a direct warning from the Chinese military about the exercises, only learning about them after receiving notification from civil aviation officials on Friday morning. Johnston considered the Chinese side's "notification insufficient" regarding the live-fire exercises.

Liberal Senator James Paterson responded quickly to this, stating that the Chinese navy "didn't give any notice at all." Paterson also questioned the time it took for the New Zealand military to notify the Australian side, saying he expected "direct and immediate" communication. Johnston also updated the location information of the Chinese fleet, which consists of a frigate, a guided-missile cruiser, and a supply ship.

Currently, these ships are located 250 kilometers south of Hobart, within Australia's exclusive economic zone, and are sailing southwest, seemingly heading towards the Great Australian Bight. Johnston stated that he could not rule out the possibility of an undetected nuclear submarine accompanying these surface vessels. "I don't know whether there is a submarine accompanying them. It's possible: task groups are sometimes deployed with submarines, but not always," he said. "I can't be certain if that's the case."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today that the government will make further comments on the Chinese warships. "The Department of Defence will have more to say about that today, but we've been aware of the presence of Chinese naval vessels... that's why there has been monitoring between Australia and New Zealand," he said. "New Zealand vessels of course have been tracking that task force as well, so they've been aware of it, and they've notified the Department of Defence."