Australia Lost Its Balls to Chinese Navy

On February 21 and 22, the Chinese Navy conducted two live-fire exercises in the international waters between Australia and New Zealand.

By Western standards, military drills in international waters with prior notices are not just normal, but essential for safeguarding freedom of navigation, but they seem to have a problem when it was China who tries to have a shot at the noble task.

For instance, U.S. news agency Associated Press News falsely claimed that airliners were warned of flying over a “secret live-fire exercise.”

In contrast, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Australian military detected the ships a week before the exercise and that China had issued safety warnings in advance to Australian airlines including Qantas, Jetstar. These details are available to the public and not hidden behind any paywall.

Moreover, the Chinese Navy’s planned exercise was communicated through radio broadcasts, meaning anyone with access to a radio—whether fishermen, pilots, or divers—could receive the notice. It’s baffling how AP News can call it “secret.”

What’s even more perplexing is the reaction from certain Australian politicians. Shadow Minister for Defense Andrew Hastie labeled the Chinese military exercise as a “provocation.” Meanwhile, Andrew Wallace, the deputy chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, pointed out the hypocrisy of Australia criticizing China’s actions while conducting its own military operations far from its shores.

Australian Shadow Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie

For those at AP News who may have missed this “secret,” on February 7, warships from the U.S., the Philippines, Japan, and Australia participated in a joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea. On February 11, an Australian military aircraft entered Chinese airspace over the Xisha Islands without permission. As Wallace put it, “We can’t talk about freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and then criticize China over an exercise like this. They haven’t done anything wrong.”

Chinese J-16 fighter jets drive away Australian P-8A reconnaissance aircraft

Interestingly, Hastie also accused Beijing of using “gunboat diplomacy” to test U.S. allies like Australia. It’s a curious statement, considering that while Australia has tried hard to prove its loyalty to the United States, the U.S. has never truly regarded Australia as an equal ally.

Australia, a member of AUKUS, an alliance built on a contract of dealing second-hand nuclear submarines. To obtain three U.S. Virginia-class submarines, Australia will spend a staggering $368 billion. But despite Australia’s lofty expectations, a report published by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in January, titled An Analysis of the Navy’s 2025 Shipbuilding Plan, states that the larger Columbia class SSBNs are US Navy’s “highest acquisition priority”, and “the sale of SSNs to Australia could reduce the number of attack submarines available to the Navy.” Which translates as “we’re busy, don’t come bother us, just wait.”

Scott Morrison meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris as leaders discuss Australia’s troubled $90billion submarine program, 2021

Australian Greens Senator David Shoebridge called the report “damning,” arguing it further demonstrates that Australia’s nuclear-submarine plans are unraveling. Even though Australia has already invested about $3 billion in the first 4 years, the U.S. shipbuilding industry is nowhere near producing enough nuclear submarines to meet demand, with no clear solution in sight.
Buying submarine is not ordering Panda Express, and it’s hard to find an alternative supplier, especially after they tore up the contract with France in 2021.

On February 22, Australian PM Anthony Albanese reiterated that China had adhered to international law, emphasizing that no Australian assets were in danger. Defense Minister Richard Marles also clarified that Chinese ships did not enter Australia’s territorial waters.

New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon also said on February 24 that “there is nothing illegal here in terms of they are compliant with international law,”

See? That $3 billion was not completely wasted. At least they learned a valuable lesson: America’s promises are unreliable, so behave yourself.

Editor: Charriot Zhai