China conducts naval exercises off the coast of Australia

China has warned the Australian government of possible live-fire exercises in international waters off the country's coast.

Here's What We Know

According to 9news, three Chinese warships in international waters near the state of New South Wales could have conducted live-fire exercises. This forced the rerouting of several flights from Australia to New Zealand.

However, the Australian Defence Force cannot confirm whether the Chinese ships actually used ammunition during the exercise. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the Chinese authorities had officially reported the possible live firing, and the Australian and New Zealand militaries were monitoring the situation.

According to him, China's actions do not violate international law, and the Australian Department of Defence sees no immediate threat to Australian or New Zealand assets.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the exercise was being conducted in accordance with international law, but she expressed concern about the level of transparency from China. Wong plans to discuss the issue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The Australian Defence Force reported that since last week it has been tracking a group of three Chinese ships that were spotted in international waters off the coast of Queensland. The flotilla consists of the frigate Hengyang (Type 054A), destroyer Zunyi (Type 055) and supply ship Weishanhu (Type 903). The ships came within 150 nautical miles (276 km) of Sydney while remaining in international waters.

The Type 055 class destroyers are considered to be the most powerful ships in the Chinese navy. They are equipped with Type-346 "Dragon Eye" radars and armed with 130 mm H/PJ-38 artillery, two vertical launchers for 64 and 48 containers, which can carry HHQ-9 anti-aircraft missiles (range 200 km), YJ-18A anti-ship missiles, CJ-10 cruise missiles and Yu-8A anti-submarine missiles.

Source: 9news