Australia says Chinese spy ship has been hugging west coast

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's defense minister said Friday that a Chinese warship with spying capabilities had been hugging the nation's western coastline in what amounted to an "aggressive act." Minister Peter Dutton said the ship was sighted Friday morning heading north about 250 nautical miles from Broome in Western Australia, and had been tracked along the coastline for the past week. "Its intention, of course, is to collect intelligence right along the coastline," Dutton said. "It has been in close proximity to military and intelligence installations on the west coast of Australia." He said it was without precedent for…