Five warships of the Australian Navy last week operated in the East Sea and moved near Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago, before joining forces with US and Japanese forces in the Philippine Sea for joint exercises, ABC News on December 22.
The Australian ship group did not move into the 12 nautical mile area around the Spratly Islands as US warships often do during freedom of navigation patrol operations in the East Sea.
The Australian Navy’s helicopter carrier HMAS Canberra participates in joint exercises with US and Japanese warships in the Philippine Sea, July 21.
The Australian Defense Force (ADF) in a statement confirming the group of warships sailing near the Truong Sa archipelago last week said the Australian warships had an `unexpected encounter with a foreign warship` during their journey.
ABC News said the Australian ship group encountered the Chinese navy, but `the exact location is unknown`.
The US and Australian navies and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted joint exercises in the Philippine Sea on July 19-21 to demonstrate the three countries’ commitment to the `Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy`.
The exercise was held in the context that the US, Japan and Australia all criticized China’s aggressive moves in the western Pacific region, including the East China Sea and the East Sea.
The military commanders of the three countries in July issued a joint statement condemning the use of force or coercion to `change the status quo` in the East and South China Seas, affirming the importance of freedom of navigation and navigation.
China unilaterally drew the `9-dash line` to claim unreasonable territorial claims over most of the East Sea area, regardless of international law.
Path of US, Japanese and Australian warships through the Philippines for joint exercises in the Philippine Sea.
The US has repeatedly criticized China’s moves in the region such as building artificial islands, building military airports and deploying weapons there.
China has recently deployed many drastic activities after Covid-19 to put pressure on surrounding countries and territories.
In the East Sea, China has deployed a series of aggressive activities such as sending the Hai Duong 8 geological survey ship into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, then following a Malaysian drilling ship, and sending a coast guard ship to sink a Vietnamese fishing boat.
