Chinese Live-Fire Drills In Tasman Sea Raise Alarms In Australia And New Zealand – OpEd

After continuous harassment and coercion against several countries for several months in the South China Sea (SCS), now China has its eyes on Australia and New Zealand.

In recent days, the Chinese Navy   conducted two live-fire military exercises in waters near Australia and New Zealand, sparking concern in both countries, The Conversation website reported.

The Albanese government lodged diplomatic protest with Beijing. China responded by saying it was “deeply surprised and strongly dissatisfied” by Australia’s response.

The presence of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (or PLA Navy) ships was well known. Australia’s Department of Defence put out a media release on Feb. 13 indicating it was “aware” of the three ships operating to the northeast of Australia.

Over the next week, the ships gradually made their way along Australia’s east coast through its exclusive economic zone in the Tasman Sea, which extends 200 nautical miles (370km) from a country’s coastline.

On Feb. 21, the PLA Navy gave short notice of its intent to conduct a possible live-fire exercise in the high seas between Australia and New Zealand. The next day, the ships conducted a second live-fire exercise. A live fire exercise can take many forms, such as using live rounds against stationary sea targets or the testing of new weapons systems.

Once Australia and New Zealand received China’s notification of its exercises, a maritime and air exclusion zone was created in the vicinity of the Chinese ships, and trans-Tasman commercial flights were diverted.

Both exercises took place in “international waters”, which means no country has sovereignty over them. Neither Canberra nor Wellington contested China’s right to conduct these exercises, as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) places no constraints on high-seas military operations.

According to the RNZ news website, three Chinese naval vessels have been sailing in international waters off Australia’s east coast and conducting live-fire exercises, causing trans-Tasman flights to divert Feb. 21.

The fleet consists of the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu.

The New Zealand Defence Force has been working with its Australian counterpart to monitor the ships since Feb. 21.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper, the Chinese navy targeted aerial and maritime threats in a series of live-fire combat-readiness drills in the Pacific, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Feb. 25, as a diplomatic row with Australia and New Zealand over military exercises rumbled on.

Without disclosing the exact area of operation, the report said the People’s Liberation Army exercise included coordination and resupply operations, underscoring improved joint operational abilities.

The report comes days after live-fire PLA Navy drills in the Tasman Sea put Australia and New Zealand on alert, prompting dozens of commercial flight diversions and naval monitoring by both countries.

According to the CCTV report, the naval task group was led by the Type 055 stealth guided-missile destroyer Zunyi, and included the Type 054A frigate Hengyang and the Type 903 replenishment vessel Weishanhu.

The live-fire drills included simulated responses to “a fast-approaching unidentified vessel” and well as threats “from the air”, the report added.

According to the SCMP, on Feb. 22, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles criticised Beijing for allegedly not giving adequate notice of the drills in the waters between Australia and New Zealand, calling the late alert “disconcerting” for commercial aviation.

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Feb.25 that the drills posed “no imminent risk of danger”.

Beijing has dismissed Canberra’s accusations as “baseless and misleading”.

“There was no impact on aviation safety,” the SCMP reported quoting Chinese defence ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian as  saying. 

Australia’s remarks “do not align with the facts”, Wu said, while emphasising that the Chinese fleet carried out drills in international waters far from the Australian coastline, and had issued multiple safety notices in advance.

The exercise included live-fire main gun drills targeting sea-based threats which, Wu stressed, were in full compliance with international law and standard maritime practices.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also complained of limited notice from China, saying on Feb. 24 that the matter would be raised by Foreign Minister Winston Peters in Beijing. Peters arrived in the Chinese capital on Feb. 25  for a three-day visit and is expected to meet his counterpart Wang Yi.

“There is nothing illegal here in terms of [the live-fire exercises] are compliant with international law,” the SCMP reported quoting Luxon as saying. 

“The issue for us is … we’d appreciate a little bit more advance notice particularly on what is a busy air route.”

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she discussed the issue with Wang on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in South Africa on Feb. 21.

“I … sought an explanation for Chinese naval vessels conducting live-fire drills without advance notification,” Wong posted on X, formerly Twitter.

However, because the exercises took place in the high seas, the protocol is more ambiguous. This became the key point of differentiation with China. Beijing could argue its warships are under no legal obligation to tell anyone what they are doing on the high seas. 

The PLA Navy has been sailing more frequently around the Australian coast and has observed Australian military exercises conducted with defence partners, such as Exercise Talisman Sabre in 2023.

As Australia and New Zealand are strong supporters of the rules-based international order on which the law of the sea is based, there is very little they can legally do to obstruct China. Nevertheless, three options are available.

First, enhanced air and naval surveillance of China’s activities in these waters is legally permissible. Constantly shadowing the PLA Navy in the South Pacific, though, would be a drain on stretched defence resources.

Both countries would also need to ensure their navies are not in the line of fire to avoid an accident that could spiral into a major conflict.

Second, Australia and New Zealand could work though bodies such as the International Maritime Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization to settle on agreed practices on how much advance notification is required for high seas live-fire tests.

Finally, both countries could push for negotiations on a regional “naval code of conduct”. Similar codes have been agreed upon by both China and the U.S. in the past. Incidents like this could prove to be a catalyst for more.

The South Pacific will increasingly be a strategically contested maritime space. Australia and New Zealand frequently deploy their navies for humanitarian operations in neighbouring Pacific states and engage in exercises with their military partners. The US Navy is also becoming more active in the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea to counter China, as are the navies of other nations, such as the United Kingdom, France and Japan.

China’s live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea raises concerns in Australia and New Zealand but China says it did not violate any international rules by its live-fire military exercises in the high seas.