Chinese warships conduct second live fire drill in Tasman Sea as Australia seeks answers

The incident surrounding the Chinese warships conducting live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea continues to escalate. Following a similar event that forced a civilian airliner to reroute recently, live-fire exercises were conducted again on Saturday afternoon. This latest incident has once again drawn attention, with opposition parties and security experts calling on the federal government to take a stronger response.

Despite this, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed suggestions for a stronger condemnation of China, emphasizing that China's actions were in accordance with international law. Albanese stated during a campaign event in Tasmania, "The Department of Defence has confirmed that China has complied with international law." He added, "We think it would have been preferable to have had more warning of this potential event." He also confirmed, "There was no danger to Australian assets as a result of this action by China."

Meanwhile, New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins confirmed that the New Zealand Navy observed the Chinese warships conducting live-fire exercises. The Australian Prime Minister rejected suggestions that the government should take stronger condemnation measures, such as trade restrictions. Albanese told reporters, "You know, most of the trade is from here to there, not the other way around." Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised concerns about Friday's live-fire exercise alerts, including proper notification, during a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister at the G20 meeting in South Africa.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles stated in an interview with Weekend Today, "I don't think we've had satisfactory answers from China about the issue of notification." Last week, a Chinese fighter jet released flares just meters in front of an Australian reconnaissance aircraft. In the same week, the Department of Defence publicly stated that it was monitoring three Chinese warships sailing in the Coral Sea. These warships sailed south along the east coast and, on Friday, forced a civilian airliner to reroute mid-flight due to radio warnings of live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea.

Defence analyst Malcolm Davis told 9News, "Each time these incidents occur, the Australian government's mild and diplomatic condemnations do not deter China from doing it again and again." Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie expressed a similar sentiment: "I think what we're seeing from the Prime Minister and his Defence Minister is a pattern of weakness over the last two years." However, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon echoed his Australian counterpart's view, saying, "They were in international waters and acting entirely within international law."

On Saturday evening, China reached an agreement with the Cook Islands to build more ports and ships, further indicating that our largest trading partner remains our largest security challenge. Marles also stated on Weekend Today that, typically, if the Royal Australian Navy were to conduct live-fire exercises in international waters, it would provide 12 to 24 hours' notice. He said that he has secured "unprecedented" levels of assets to track these warships in order to ascertain the operations of the Chinese task force. "What we've seen is an unusual mission, and we've taken an unprecedented level of surveillance," Marles said. "They haven't breached international law, and we haven't breached international law in terms of our surveillance."