The flotilla of ships is now passing by Tasmania down the southernmost part of Australia.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pressed the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not answering “basic questions” about the timeline of a live fire drill staged in the Tasman Sea by a flotilla of Chinese warships.
The pilot overheard a warning from the Chinese ships on a radio (guard band) frequency monitored by pilots but not by air traffic control.
All pilots in the area, and those scheduled to fly later that day, were warned two minutes later as a result.
Later, an Emirates flight spoke to the Chinese ships and was told the exercise had begun at 9.30 a.m.—meaning there was 30 minute gap between when the apparent exercise began and when Australia’s official flight traffic controller knew it was happening.
Civilian aircraft were likely flying through the area during that time before being told to re-route—49 flights were impacted by the PLAN’s activities.
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On the day of the incident, Prime Minister Albanese also said the Chinese military had “given notice” of the exercise.
Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference at the Chatswood Medical Centre in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 25, 2025. AAP Image/Paul Braven
Later on Feb. 26, Prime Minister Albanese clarified that Australia received civilian and military notifications “at around the same time.”
“There were two areas of notification: one was from the New Zealand vessels that were tailing … the [PLA] vessels in the area. So that occurred, and at the same time, through the channels that occur when these things occur, Airservices got notified as well.”
Yet the Australian Defence Force Chief Admiral David Johnston told a Senate Estimates committee hearing that the military officially found out from the New Zealand Defence Force about an hour later at 11.00 a.m.—the NZDF was monitoring the Chinese flotilla’s communications.
The chief admiral said Airservices Australia had issued its warning at about 10.10 a.m.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi, and Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu. Courtesy of the Australian Department of Defence
Liberal Senator James Paterson also asked Johnston whether the three warships were likely to be supported by a submarine.
“I don’t know whether there is a submarine with them,” Johnston replied. “Task groups occasionally do deploy with submarines, but not always.”
Opposition Leader Dutton said the discrepancies between the timelines advanced by Albanese and Johnston needed to be cleared up.
“I hope that the prime minister can come out and give an honest account of what the government knew, and when, in relation to [these] naval ships that are off our coastline, what warnings the government had,” he said.
Coalition defence spokesperson Andrew Hastie told the ABC that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was undertaking “the biggest peacetime military buildup since 1945,” intending to emphasise that it is a global power and is “testing U.S. allies as Donald Trump resets relationships in Europe.
“We’re seeing a flotilla of three warships conduct live-fire exercises off our coast. So we’ve gone from wolf warrior diplomacy to gunboat diplomacy,” Hastie said.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters raised the presence of Beijing’s warships with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Vice President Han Zheng in a meeting earlier on Feb. 26 and is scheduled to meet his counterpart Wang Yi later in the evening.
Albanese said he had spoken to NZ PM Christopher Luxon about the ongoing situation as both nations’ navies shadowed the CCP flotilla.
