could also be accompanied by a nuclear-powered submarine, but the government can’t be certain.
The flotilla is located around 500km west of Hobart on the border of Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government doesn’t know if the task group includes a submarine.
“We don’t know whether there is the presence of a submarine, and that, in part, speaks to the nature of submarines,” he told ABC radio on Thursday.
“So, we can’t answer that question definitively, which is precisely why it’s important that Australia has a long-range submarine capability.”
Marles said the government is closely observing the task group.
“What we are doing is an unprecedented level of surveillance in relation to this particular Chinese mission,” he said.
“Much more than what we saw under the former government.”
Anthony Albanese not across the issue, Opposition says
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has criticised the government’s handling of the warships, saying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was not across the issue.
Australian military officials have confirmed the Chinese ships took part in live-fire drills last week close to the exclusive economic zone.
A spokesperson for the Department of Defence said last week the government has raised concerns over a “lack of notice” about the live-fire drills with China.
Dutton said Albanese should admit fault over the mishandling of the incident’s reporting.
“I think the prime minister’s either confused, he’s mixed up in his details or he’s misled. Whatever it is, I think he needs to stand up and say, ‘look, I got it wrong. I misunderstood the briefing that I had’,” Dutton told 2GB Radio on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticised the Opposition’s stance on the issue during a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday, accusing Dutton of reviving his “drums of war” rhetoric to score political points and turn China into an election issue.
The committee also heard the Coalition waited four days before getting a briefing about the defence operations to track the flotilla.
Wong has questioned whether the Opposition is genuinely focused on national security and said Labor will not be reckless and arrogant in its engagement with China.
“I think you are engaging in politicisation of this event for your own political purposes. And I think people can see that,” she said.
“We now see gunboat diplomacy being added to the litany of war talk from the Opposition. Such rhetoric does not make Australia safer.”
What are the rules around Australia’s borders?
Australian military officials have confirmed the Chinese ships had re-entered Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
The exclusive economic zone is a maritime area that extends from 22 to 370km from the Australian coastline, over which Australia has jurisdiction and sovereign rights.
Marles said Australia would give “12 to 24, sometimes 48 hours’ notice” of a live firing event, which the government says China failed to do.
International law restricts a country’s right to enter the maritime borders of another without permission or a prior agreement.
Australia’s maritime borders surround the continent, stretching from the mid-Indian Ocean, north to near the equator, to the east of the country and along its southern borders.
Australia’s jurisdiction also includes the coastlines of various external territories, including Christmas Island and Norfolk Island.
The country holds full sovereignty over these waters, and any foreign nation wishing to enter them must seek permission from the government.
A number of countries, such as East Timor, have maritime treaties with Australia.
The live-fire exercise follows a , where a fighter jet fired flares in front of a Royal Australian Air Force surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea.
