Australian warships are being “routinely” shadowed by Chinese military vessels in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, in behavior the new head of the Navy describes as “unusual”.
Key Points:
- Australian Navy chief says Chinese warships regularly shadow Australian warships
- But Vice Admiral Mark Hammond says interactions with the People’s Liberation Army remain professional
- He also played down warnings that US shipyards might not be able to accommodate the construction of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines.
In a wide-ranging interview, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond insisted that interactions with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) remained safe and “professional” and predicted that Chinese spy ships would closely monitor naval exercises in Darwin on next week.
Exercise Kakadu begins on Monday and ships and aircraft from more than 20 nations are expected to attract the attention of Chinese intelligence-gathering vessels, which have monitored similar activities in recent years.
“The exercise will take place in international waters outside our territorial seas, and it is not unusual to see ships from many different nations in this environment,” Vice Admiral Hammond said.
“We are preparing accordingly, and we will scale and manage the exercise accordingly as we have done in the past,” he added.
The biennial exercise Kakadu was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2018, before diplomatic relations with Beijing deteriorated, the Chinese warship Huangshan was invited to participate in the maritime exercises
Last year, the ABC revealed the arrival of a Chinese auxiliary general intelligence (AGI) vessel off the coast of Queensland, which was later joined by a second spy ship to follow military exercises Talisman Saber
The Navy chief declined to speculate on the unlikely possibility that China would be invited back to participate in the Kakadu exercise.
“Participation in exercises like this is a political decision”, he said.
“At the end of the day, we are where we are, and I am yet to see an Australian ship invited to a PLA Navy exercise.”
This month’s military exercises in Australia’s northern maritime approaches come amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan following US President Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to the island democratic
Earlier this year, the ABC revealed that the Australian warship HMAS Parramatta was closely followed as it sailed through international waters claimed by Beijing. This included being followed by a Chinese nuclear submarine.
Vice Admiral Hammond confirmed that it was now standard practice for Australian warships to be closely shadowed by the PLA when transiting the South China Sea.
“Routinely, whenever we have a ship up there, there’s a PLA Navy ship in sight, often following us. It’s unusual behavior,” he said.
“I don’t know of any other navy that does this. It’s a departure from what we would call normal maritime behavior, but it hasn’t stopped us from conducting our operations.”
When asked if Australian warships could follow the US Navy in navigating the Taiwan Strait, Vice Admiral Hammond revealed that some transits had taken place in the “last couple of years”.
“These decisions are policy decisions, so if they are addressed, we will continue to make them,” he said.
Navy chief plays down ‘commentary’ on submarine plan
Approaching his first 100 days in the Navy’s top job, Vice Admiral Hammond also played down a recent warning that US shipyards would not be able to accommodate the construction of future nuclear-powered submarines. ‘Australia.
The US strategic submarine program executive officer, Rear Admiral Scott Pappano, issued the stark assessment last month as a special AUKUS task force continues to work with the US and UK on options for to Australia’s upcoming fleet.
Vice Admiral Hammond, a career submariner, argued that “there has been a lot of feedback” since the AUKUS announcement was made in September last year.
“I would listen to what the president of the United States and his authorized spokespeople have to say about this because I think there’s going to be a lot of different opinions in a lot of different pockets, and there’s certainly going to be no shortage of opinions and comments.”