By Andrew Greene, ABC Defence Correspondent
A photo released by the Australian Defence Force shows the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Arunta (lower L) sailing near the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Fuchi-class replenishment vessel and Weishanhu Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang in the Tasman Sea. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP
- Three Chinese warships are being tracked operating approximately 160 nautical miles east of Hobart.
- The Defence Department has released further images taken of the PLA-N task force which caused disruption to international flights across the Tasman on Friday.
- The PLA-N warships are being closely monitored by the Australian and New Zealand militaries.
Three Chinese warships that recently completed live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea have re-entered Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone and are currently being tracked operating east of Hobart.
The Defence Department has confirmed it is working with New Zealand's military to jointly track the People's Liberation Army-Navy flotilla "in the vicinity of Australia's maritime approaches" as the task force makes its way closer to Tasmania.
"Task Group 107 re-entered Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone in the early hours of this morning," the Defence Department said in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon.
"PLA-N Task Group 107, comprised of the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class Cruiser Zunyi, and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu, is operating approximately 160 nautical miles (296 kilometres) east of Hobart," the statement said.
"Australia expects all militaries operating in the region to engage transparently, maintain the highest standards of safety and professionalism, and we encourage all states to maintain open communication to ensure their actions support regional security and stability.
"We respect the right of all states under international law to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace, just as we expect others to respect our right to do the same."
Chinese warships re-enter Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone
The People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Task Group is now operating around 160 nautical miles east of Hobart.
The department has also released new images of the PLA-N warships that are being "closely monitored" by the Australian and New Zealand militaries.
At the same time, Defence released further images taken of the PLA-N task force which caused disruption to international flights across the Tasman on Friday when beginning live-fire exercises.
Appearing on the ABC's Afternoon Briefing programme, government frontbencher Ed Husic said all navies were allowed to traverse international waters, but they should give adequate notice of potentially hazardous activity.
"The biggest issue is to conduct live fire you have to give notice. We provide notice 12 to 24 hours' notice when we do the same as a country. There is good reason for that. It is a safety reason."
Aviation officials have revealed they first learnt of last week's potential Chinese live-fire military exercise in the Tasman Sea after a Virgin Airlines pilot relayed warnings he had picked up mid-flight via an emergency radio frequency.
During an appearance on ABC's Q+A on Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the action occurred outside Australia's economic zone and that notice had been given, though it would have been better if there had been more warning.
"So we put in an official protest, if you like, that more notice should have been given if this activity was to occur," he said.
Pilots, air traffic control can cope with sudden hazards
The discovery of the live-fire exercises last Friday would have caused "a scramble" for authorities, a Kiwi pilot says.
Mike Fransham, a commercial airline pilot of 38 years, said any commercial pilot hearing on a radio frequency about the live firing would have been taken by surprise.
However, it was standard operating procedure for pilots to monitor the "guard frequency" in Oceanic airspace.
It was not uncommon for aircraft to be diverted for hazards to aviation such as bad weather or the sudden eruption of a volcano.
"The system is set up that air traffic controllers can divert the aeroplane and realtively easily too, they can uplink the new route into the navigation system that the pilot checks and that will take you around the hazard that's been identified."
Normally, Airservices Australia or Airways New Zealand would have been notified ahead of time about any live firing exercises and the information would be passed on to the airlines so that flights can be re-routed around the hazards, Fransham said.
The system was set up to be able to respond quickly to any hazard that arose suddenly although Friday's incident would have caused a "little bit of a scramble".
- ABC / RNZ
