Occurred last weekbut the shock was so great that since then they have not stopped The communiqués happen With diploma doing overtime trying to find a meeting point in what happened. As in TaiwanAustralia found a situation to some excorees last Friday. Suddenly, a fleet of ships Not announced I was doing shooting practices in its waters. It was China, and since then they do not agree.
The alarm Last week, a group of Three Chinese warships (A cruise of Renhai classa frigate and a supply ship) entered the exclusive economic zone of Australia Without declaring its purpose (Only 150 nautical miles from Sydney). According to Australian defense minister, Richard Marles, although he was not unpublished at all, was “unusual.” And there was more: on Friday, commercial flights between Australia and New Zealand They had to deviate Suddenly after Chinese ships alert the pilots that flew over an exercise area with real fire.
Although it has not been confirmed that the shots occurred on the same day, the New Zealand Navy reported that the next day, on Saturday, Yes there was real fire activity. His Minister of Defense, Judith Collins, He expressed his concernespecially for The lack of communication by China. “Unfortunately, tensions have increased,” he said, remembering the recent launch of a ballistic missile Chinese Intercontinental in the Pacific Ocean. In addition, he admitted that they did not know the next movements of Chinese ships, which has led his government to ask for explanations from the Embassy of the Nation.
The concerns. Therefore, and although China did not violate international law, the authorities of both countries have criticized publicly The lack of early warning appropriate. Not just that. The naval episode occurs a few days after an incident between a Chinese hunting and a patrol plane Australian in the South China Sea. Canberra denounced the action as “dangerous and unprofessional”, while Beijing accused Australia of provocation.
The Chinese response and the reasons. The Chinese Defense Ministry He rejected the accusations Of both nations, ensuring that they issued multiple security notices in advance and accusing the Australian and Neozyn Governments of “deliberately exaggerating the incident. As for the big question, experts consider this incursion A strategic background.
Michael Shoebridge, former Australian defense official, had the Washington Post This week that China seeks to press Australia for His military alliances With Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, countries that have territorial disputes with Beijing. Plus: China is expanding its influence In the Pacific, trying to consolidate security agreements with small island nations, which worries Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the exercises also demonstrate the growing Chinese naval capacity at a time when it seeks to project more power in the region.
China in the area. The presence of Chinese warships in the south of the Pacific adds to a growing militarization of the region by Beijing. In fact, in recent years it has increased His presence near Japanand has done exercises with real fire near Australia or Challenged to the United States In the South China Sea. Moreover, had in Japan Times That the naval deployment in waters east of Australia has lit the alarms in Canberra and Tokyo.
According to Andrew ShearerGeneral Intelligence Director of Australia, this is the further incursion ever carried out by a group of tasks of the Navy of the Popular Liberation Army, and its objective seems to be normalizing the Chinese military presence in the region.
Evaluate the allied response. It could be another of the hypotheses that some experts point out. Shearer warned That China was not only sending a message to Australia, but sought to evaluate and mold the responses of the countries of the region. According to Euan GrahamAnalyst of the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy, the Popular Liberation Army is calibrating the reactions of Australia and Japan, both key allies of the United States.
“The absence of a firm response from Australia or a statement of support from Washington will only be emboldened to China to continue pressing. Its objective is to normalize its military presence in the region and find fissures between the United States and its Pacific allies,” Graham explained.
What seems clearly clear is that recent naval exercises with real fire of China, now in the Sea of Tasmania, have relieved tensions in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Although Australia has no direct territorial disputes with China, her growing naval presence In the region, along with their alliances with the United States and other Asian powers, it seems that they look from Beijing as a challenge to their influence.
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