Virgin pilot first to spot three Chinese warships off Australia, Airservices Australia says

Australia's air navigation service provider has revealed that it was a Virgin Australia pilot who first spotted three Chinese warships off Australia's east coast last week. The three warships, including a frigate, a cruiser, and a supply ship, were discovered in the Tasman Sea on Friday morning, just 150 nautical miles from Sydney. These vessels' presence raised concerns regarding maritime security in the region.

Beijing has confirmed that it was conducting live-fire exercises in international waters at the time. Rob Sharp, CEO of Airservices Australia, told the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee last night that the agency received an alert at 9:58 a.m. Mr. Sharp told senators: "Effectively, a Virgin Australia aircraft notified one of our air traffic controllers that there was a foreign warship broadcasting that it was undertaking live firing 300 nautical miles to the east of our coast. That's how we first became aware of it." This incident highlights the important role commercial pilots play in maritime surveillance.

Peter Curran, Deputy CEO of Airservices Australia, added that the warships were detected on an international common frequency, which air traffic controllers do not monitor, but pilots do. According to the head of the government-owned agency, a hazard alert was issued to all flights in the area within two minutes of receiving the report, at 10 a.m., and the Australian Defence Force was notified shortly thereafter. Mr. Curran said: "At that stage, we didn't know whether this was a potential hoax or a genuine situation. We just passed the information on as standard procedure." The rapid response helped ensure aviation safety.

Mr. Curran stated that an Emirates pilot contacted the Chinese warships at 10:18 a.m. and was informed that they were conducting live-fire exercises. Subsequently, air traffic controllers diverted 49 flights. Mr. Curran explained: "Some of those were aircraft that were airborne at the time, that we initially became aware of, and many of them were flights that were subsequently planned to route around that airspace. As a precaution, flight planning continued to reroute throughout the weekend." This proactive measure minimized potential risks to civilian aircraft.

Mr. Curran stated that as of yesterday morning, the three warships had moved further south into the Tasman Sea, away from flight paths, so flights no longer needed to be diverted. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked at a press conference this morning whether he was concerned that Virgin Australia was the first to report the Chinese warships, but he insisted that the Defence Department "certainly knew" of their presence. He said at a press conference this morning: "Australia has sent frigates to monitor, through both maritime and aerial assets, the presence of these Chinese vessels in the area." Last week, Albanese confirmed that China's actions were in accordance with international law, but Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed concern about the transparency of the tests.