Chinese Spy Ship Stayed 3 Weeks Off Australia’s Coast, Observing Military Bases

On Friday Australia’s Defense Minister Peter Dutton called out China for its disconnect between presenting itself as committed to peace versus the reality. “We’re all familiar with the frequent claims of the Chinese government that it is committed to peace, cooperation and development,” Dutton began in a speech in Canberra.

“And yet we bear witness to a significant disconnect between the words and the actions. We’ve watched very closely as the Chinese government has engaged in increasingly alarming activities,” he added. Just prior to his remarks the Aussie government revealed this weekend that a Chinese spy ship was recently observed spying along the Australian coast line, where it stayed for three weeks.

“The Yuhengxing spy ship is understood to have entered Australia’s 200km exclusive economic zone near Darwin in August and September,” Seven News Australia reported. “It then sailed south as far as Sydney, passing a number of important military areas, before heading across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand.”

The federal government said that the Ministry of Home Affairs “closely monitored” the ship, with a top official saying, “I can certainly confirm that there was a Chinese military vessel operating off the east coast of Australia that had transited through the Torres Strait.”

While it past the aforementioned notably military bases, the spy vessel was not reported to have breached Australia’s territorial waters, defined as within 12 nautical miles of the coast. Regardless amid tit-for-tat warnings between the two large Pacific power in the wake of the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal with the United States, the spy ship incident has only added to already soaring tensions.

In response to Dutton’s aggressive Friday remarks directed toward leaders in Beijing, the Chinese embassy in Canberra issued a statement denouncing his remarks, saying his distorted view of China’s intentions and policies “fanning conflict and division between peoples and nations” – especially by misleading his own people. 

Chinese spy ships, and powerful warships & submarines, are going to be a regular presence off Australia’s coast as #China’s navy rapidly grows and matures. Yet @ScottMorrison is happy to wait until 2040 before Australia gets any new subs! #snafu #auspol https://t.co/9fxB9IzX3J

— Rex Patrick (@Senator_Patrick) November 25, 2021

“It is inconceivable that China-Australia relationship will take on a good momentum … if the Australian government bases its national strategy on such visionless analysis and outdated mentality,” the embassy added said in the statement.

Meanwhile it’s expected that China will only send more vessels to regularly observe Australia’s defenses, particularly after Beijing officials have interpreted the AUKUS deal as signaling the country is effectively abandoning its status as a nuclear-free zone.