This month has seen a series of provocative incidents between the Australian and Chinese militaries. Last week a Chinese fighter jet and an Australian military plane had a close encounter, with each side condemning the other.
Canberra rebuked Beijing for "unsafe" military conduct after the Chinese jet released flares near an Australian air force plane patrolling the South China Sea. However, the Chinese government accused the Australian plane of "violating Chinese sovereignty and endangering Chinese national security."
Following this, China sent warships down the eastern Australian coast, sailing just 150 nautical miles east of Sydney in a recent first.
The Australian navy has responded by sending its own warships to shadow and monitor the Chinese PLA Navy ships. They include three ships total: a Chinese frigate, a cruiser and a supply tanker.
"We are keeping a close watch on them, and we will make sure we are watching every move," Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
"It’s not unprecedented. But it is an unusual event," Marles said, but still stipulated that the vessels are "not a threat" at this point as they are "engaging in accordance with international law."
"And just as they have a right to be in international waters, which is what they are doing, we have a right to be prudent and to make sure that we are surveilling them, which is what we are doing," he added.
Additionally, New Zealand’s Defense Minister Judith Collins confirmed that NZ's military is closely monitoring the ships' progress.
She told a national broadcaster, "We have not been informed by the Chinese government why this task group has been deployed into our region, and we have not been informed what its future plans are," and that "We will continue to monitor these vessels."
Maritime analyst Bec Strating La Trobe University has questioned, "What is the Chinese navy doing this far south?"
She was quoted in the NY Times as describing, "That would be the thing that is causing anxiety. Is this intelligence gathering, is this really just signaling to Australia that the Chinese are also able to have naval presence in these areas?"