New Zealand's Defence Minister Judith Collins raised alarms about Chinese warships, Taskgroup 107, situated 280 nautical miles off Australia's east coast. Armed with capable weapons, including anti-ship ballistic missiles, these vessels conducted live-fire exercises that caused commercial flight diversions. Collins noted the unusual nature of this military presence and the minimal notice the Chinese government provided for the exercises. Despite assurances from China's ambassador regarding proper notification, Collins expressed skepticism about their intentions, emphasizing the need for greater transparency and advance warning for such military activities in international waters.
We've certainly never seen a task group of this capability undertaking this sort of work, it's certainly a change, she told RNZ Radio.
The weapons they have are extremely capable. One has 112 vertical launch cells and has reported anti-ship ballistic missile range of 540 nautical miles.
They're not telling us what they're planning. We're taking them at face value that they are undertaking normal transits when it comes to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Collins told RNZ that assertions by China's ambassador to New Zealand that appropriate advance notice of the drills had been given were wrong.
Collection
[
|
...
]