Australia is keeping a close watch on a Chinese naval fleet currently situated near the Philippines, with the possibility that it might be en route to Australian waters.
Defense Minister Richard Marles announced today that the Australian Defense Force (ADF) is actively tracking the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy task force. This development was initially reported by the Australian Financial Review last Thursday.
Marles noted that although the naval contingent is presently in the Philippine Sea, its ultimate destination remains uncertain and could potentially include Australia.
“We currently lack clarity on the fleet’s intended course,” Marles stated.
“However, we will maintain our surveillance of its movements until we can be certain that the task force is not headed for Australia.”
He further emphasized that it is not uncommon for the ADF to keep an eye on Chinese naval activities.
He said the government was not going to give a running commentary on the movements of the PLA Navy.
”I want to put this into some context: we maintain constant maritime domain awareness in our own geographic areas of interest,” he said.
“And in that context, we will routinely monitor the movements of PLA-N vessels.
“And when there are improvements such as this, we will monitor them, particularly until we know that they are not coming in the vicinity of Australia.”
However, Marles insisted the ADF is properly equipped to monitor any ships that come close to Australia.
“We absolutely had an unprecedented level of surveillance of that task group (earlier this year) by the Royal Australian Navy,” he said.
“And we did do it in conjunction with our friends and allies but that saw an unprecedented level of commitment of the Royal Australian Navy.
“You can be assured that at any point in the future, we will bring that same degree of determination and commitment to any journey that happens in our particular area.”
