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| Down Under |
| China flexes its military muscles as warships sail close to Australia in 'unprecedented' move of aggression |
| 2025-02-21 |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] … while Beijing navy chopper buzzes within TEN FEET of Philippines coastguard plane. China has flexed its military muscles after a fleet of warships were spotted close to Australia and a Beijing navy helicopter was seen flying within 10ft of a Philippines coastguard plane. Chinese warships were discovered just 150 nautical miles east of Sydney, marking the furthest south Beijing's navy has ever ventured along Australia's eastern coastline. The Australian Navy has since deployed two vessels to shadow the Chinese naval task group, which consists of a frigate, a cruiser, and a supply ship. The fleet was first detected off Australia's north-east coast a week ago, raising concerns over China's expanding military presence in the Pacific. A defence expert described the situation as 'unprecedented,' warning that Beijing is increasingly normalising its military reach beyond the first and second Pacific island chains, which stretch from Japan through Indonesia, Guam, and Micronesia. It comes after China was slammed for its 'dangerous, unprofessional, and reckless' actions after a Chinese navy helicopter flew just 10ft from a Philippine coastguard plane on Tuesday. 'As the Chinese test their ability to project power further south, in addition to east and west, the question becomes how much they can hold at risk - how much they can signal to the Australians that they can threaten them,' Charles Edel, a specialist in Australian security at Washington-based think-tank CSIS, told the FT. The Australian Defence Ministry confirmed the Chinese ships were operating in international waters, but their presence has been met with suspicion. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #11 I wonder if the Chinese had some kind of submarine or something instead Advanced SEAL Delivery System |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-02-21 09:25 |
| #10 Uhmm, I note in Billy's link that the Chinese ships claimed they were doing live firing and issued a warning to stay away from the airspace, then ended up not doing any actual live firing. Right over the area of one of the underwater internet cable! Instead of 'anchor dragging', I wonder if the Chinese had some kind of submarine or something instead, thus the need for the "supply ship (in reality a secret ship with an underwater hatch) and they wanted to make sure there's no aircraft around to observe what they really are doing. Just thinking out loud! |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2025-02-21 08:05 |
| #9 no problem, thanks! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-02-21 06:48 |
| #8 'Eh sorry Frank, I didn't see that you had already posted Billy's link. |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2025-02-21 06:42 |
| #7 Bangkok Billy's link It's a good read. |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2025-02-21 06:40 |
| #6 Billy's link |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-02-21 04:56 |
| #5 Aussies issued a NOTAM earlier today. CiComms getting froggy with a live-fire ex. Sorry about the link thingy... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-21/chinese-warship-pilot-hazard-east-coast/104966826 |
| Posted by: Bangkok Billy 2025-02-21 02:30 |
| #4 Australia Southern Cross Cable |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-02-21 02:04 |
| #3 The Aussie government locked down its people during Covid, after the people long ago gave up its guns. I hope NONE of them are sleeping well tonight--they all brought this on themselves. |
| Posted by: Crusader 2025-02-21 01:13 |
| #2 ^ Concur - at the same time I reckon there’s some of ours below conducting some good training. Aussie boats can’t get it done. |
| Posted by: Bangkok Billy 2025-02-21 01:02 |
| #1 Wonder how much anchor dragging is goin' on. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-02-21 00:10 |