FOI documents reveal cat-and-mouse in Chinese warship sonar incident

Ningbo was shadowing HMAS Toowoomba as it sailed through international waters in the East China Sea en route to Japan on November 14 when it stopped to remove fishing nets that had become tangled around its propeller. The FOI documents, obtained by former senator Rex Patrick, show that HMAS Toowoomba advised Ningbo by "all normal maritime communications channels" that diving operations were underway and requested the Chinese warship remain outside a range of 3 nautical miles (5.5 kilometres). While Ningbo's crew acknowledged the message, the destroyer closed to a range of 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 kilometres), prompting a fresh request…