Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko stated that an advanced drone entered the country's airspace without prior notification while Chinese naval vessels were sailing between Papua New Guinea and Australia. The drone was reportedly discovered by villagers about 6 kilometers inland from Mabudawan village on the coast of Papua New Guinea, an area just a few kilometers from the Australian border.
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03-04, 2025This incident occurred around the same time that the Chinese Navy's Jiangkai-class frigate "Hengyang" passed through the Torres Strait on February 11, after which the ship joined two other Chinese warships off the east coast of Australia. The three warships subsequently conducted live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, leading to the rerouting of commercial flights and sparking heated political debate in Canberra.
Video footage shows the drone hovering over the Papua New Guinean village at night, emitting a bright light. Local ranger Gigg Koiodawane said he initially thought he was seeing a small plane. "It was flying in the air like a stingray, with a light in front and two lights behind," he said. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation understands that the Australian Defence Force was not launching any drones in the Torres Strait region at the time.
Dr. Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst in Defence Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was difficult to clearly identify the drone from the video footage alone. Dr. Davis believes it was most likely a reconnaissance drone launched from a Chinese naval vessel to gather intelligence on activities around the Chinese task force. The Torres Strait is a narrow strait, with some areas shallow and difficult to navigate. China wants to know as much as possible about the activities of other ships in the area to ensure safe passage through the strait. He does not think this is worth excessive concern, and it should be recognized that China has invested in this type of capability, like most other navies, and similar incidents may occur again in the future.
However, the drone was also discovered to have flown over mainland Papua New Guinea, at least 6 kilometers from the coast. Dr. Davis added that these drones can help China better understand its operating environment so that in a crisis or war situation, China can operate more effectively in the area. While Minister Tkatchenko did not explicitly mention China, he stated that it would be concerning if foreign forces entered the country's airspace without notification.
Minister Tkatchenko stated, "Whether it is any country, if they are entering our sovereign territory, you would expect them to politely tell us what they are doing." He also denied a report in The Daily Telegraph that China had given him "weeks" of advance notice of the warships' passage. Minister Tkatchenko said that, in fact, the Chinese ambassador to Papua New Guinea told him about the Chinese naval vessels' planned passage through Papua New Guinea waters on the same day that Australian officials briefed him on the same topic – about two days before the Australian Defence Force issued a statement alerting the public to their presence. "[Australia] also alerted us, and it was about the same time," Minister Tkatchenko said. But he said he was not informed of any drone activity in the area.
Minister Tkatchenko emphasized, "If I fly a plane into Australia without proper approvals or procedures, I will be hunted down and detained." "Unfortunately, [in Papua New Guinea] we don't have the updated infrastructure and development capacity to arrest such vessels or aircraft, so we are limited in that regard." The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has contacted the Chinese embassies in Australia and Papua New Guinea, as well as Papua New Guinea's Minister for Defence, Billy Joseph, for comment.
