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“Approaching Australia via the Solomon Sea in the vicinity of Papua New Guinea, the ship is joined by a larger additional Chinese general intelligence vessel that was previously spotted heading the country via the Torres Strait and is being monitored by Australian defense forces,” the ABC report said. Strait Times, Sunday (18/7/2021).
The ships are expected to monitor the Talisman Saber exercise, a routine military collaboration exercise between the US and Australia that takes place every two years.
Also read: China’s Advanced Spy Vessel Reconnaissance Australia-US Joint War Exercise
Although Beijing has used intelligence-gathering measures on previous occasions, this is the first time it has deployed two spy ships and marks an unusual development, the ABC said, citing defense forces officials.
According to the ABC, as of 2019, a Chinese ship remained outside territorial waters but inside Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
“We have rules, and we want everyone to abide by those rules when it comes to freedom of navigation,” Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Sky News Television when asked about China’s presence in the sea near Australia.
Also read: US fires Patriot missiles for the first time in Australia
The move comes amid escalating geopolitical tensions between Canberra and Beijing, which were exacerbated when Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus last year – a move he repeated last week.
Since Morrison’s original petition, Beijing has implemented a series of trade retaliations against Australian goods including coal, wine and barley – actions the administration of US President Joe Biden has described as “economic coercion”.
(ian)
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