By East Asia correspondent Kathleen Calderwood, ABC
The Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang was among the Chinese flotilla sailing east of Sydney. Photo: AFP / Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is monitoring three Chinese navy ships which are understood to be sailing east of Sydney.
According to a Defence Department spokesperson, the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class Cruiser named Zunyi and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu have continued sailing down the coast after being spotted to the north east of the country last week.
"Defence routinely monitors all maritime traffic in Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone and maritime approaches," the statement said.
British newspaper the Financial Times is reporting that the ships are about 150 nautical miles east of Sydney.
"This is China sending an unsubtle signal that it is normalising the ability to project military power fairly much anywhere off the Australian coastline," says Professor Rory Medcalf, head of the ANU National Security College.
"A confronting strategic future is arriving fast. This flotilla will likely also visit Pacific island countries.
"It would be hard to find a more tangible sign of the need for Australia to increase defence spending and to sustain our campaign of statecraft aimed at stopping China establishing a military base in the Pacific."
Chinese ships sailed into Sydney harbour in 2019, however, that visit was done in coordination with the Australian government.
The visit comes as the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, is in Australia, meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong earlier this week.
Admiral Paparo is due to meet Australia's Chief of Joint Operations in Canberra on Thursday.
"All this at a time when the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command is visiting Australia - a reminder that whatever deep anxieties may be held about the Trump administration, the American presence in the Indo-Pacific is vital to our security," Professor Medcalf said.
Recently, Admiral Paparo told the Honolulu Defence Forum that China's wargames around Taiwan are "not exercises; they are rehearsals" for an invasion or blockade of the self-governed island.
Despite the Chinese Communist Government never having ruled Taiwan, Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to annex it.
Last week, a Chinese fighter jet was involved in what Marles described as a dangerous incident, releasing flares in front of an Australian military plane in the South China Sea.
"The Australian government has expressed its concerns to the Chinese government following an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with a People's Liberation Army - Air Force (PLA-AF) aircraft," Defence said in a statement.
Beijing responded by saying it had made solemn representations to Australia over what it said was the P-8's "deliberate intrusion" into China's airspace.
Addressing the media on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry was unable to answer questions about the three ships sailing near the east coast, saying he was not familiar with the situation.
-ABC
