Australia and New Zealand working together to monitor Chinese naval presence, declared ‘provocative’ by Coalition

Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australian ships and aircraft are working “very closely” with New Zealand’s military to monitor a Chinese naval taskforce transiting south off the east coast of Australia, with the opposition labelling Beijing’s behaviour “provocative.” Last night the Defence Department confirmed it was still tracking the Chinese frigate, cruiser and supply ship which have been steaming down Australia’s eastern coastline. Earlier a report from Washington in the UK’s Financial Times newspaper said the flotilla was around 150 nautical miles (277km) east of Sydney, citing analysts calling it an “unprecedented” display of China’s willingness and ability to project…