State Media - ausgovcorp rolls on it's back for its masters Government will not complain about Chinese navy ship near Australian waters The Prime Minister says the government had been aware of a Chinese navy ship that was in waters off the Australian coast recently, adding it did not break international law. Key points: The ship travelled through the Torres Strait and down the eastern coastline It was not in Australian territorial waters Scott Morrison said the the ship's presence highlighted tensions in the region Speaking on Adelaide radio station 5AA, Scott Morrison said the ship was in Australia's economic zone. "They can be in those areas just like we can be in the South China Sea," he said. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews confirmed the government monitored the ship as it travelled through the Torres Strait and down the eastern coastline. "In this case, that particular vessel was in our exclusive economic zone, not in territorial waters as such, but we actually do respect the right of sovereign nations to behave in a manner that is lawful," she said. No formal complaint or protest will be made about the ship. In a statement, a Department of Defence spokesperson said Defence was aware the People's Liberation Army intelligence ship Yuhengxing operated off the east coast in August this year. Mr Morrison said the ship's presence showed the nature of the geo-political tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. "People are not making this up," he said. Chinese spy ship returns off Queensland A large ship flying China's flag sits on open waters. A spy ship from China is spotted approaching Australia as Defence gears up for its largest war-fighting exercise. Read more "It does mean that Australia has to be on its guard and Australia has to stand up to those who want to coerce us … and slap trade sanctions on things like our wine, and our government is standing up to that." That was echoed by Defence Minister Peter Dutton on Channel Nine, who pointed to the fact that another Chinese surveillance ship travelled near Queensland in July to monitor Australian and US military exercises. "[The ship] will be involved in intelligence collection, signals collection," he said. "They'll be looking to survey different attributes and have that general presence — let us know that they're there. "It was a prolonged [time] that they were very close to Australian waters off the east coast, unusually. "I think it's right people have a clear picture of what's going on." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-26/australia-will-not-complain-about-chinese-navy-ship-off-coast/100652416
