(Sydney) The Australian defense minister on Friday condemned the “aggressive” trajectory of a Chinese spy ship off the west coast of the country, demonstrating a firm stance in the face of opposition ahead of the election.
Posted 9:40 am yesterday
Minister Peter Dutton has repeatedly urged Australian voters not to trust the opposition Labor Party over security concerns in the May 21 election.
Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison is battling the election as he criticizes the management of the Kovid-19 pandemic and repeated natural disasters.
Mr Dutton told a news conference in Perth on Friday that a Chinese reconnaissance vessel had sailed “last week” off the west coast of Australia.
A statement from the Ministry of Defense said he could not say when the ship appeared, but tracked it between May 6 and May 13.
He said the ship, which had entered the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone, was being monitored by the Australian Air Force. The area extends beyond Australian territorial waters and the government has previously said that Chinese spy ships could operate there.
“His intentions were to gather intelligence along the coast, and he found himself near military and intelligence installations,” the minister said.
“I think it was an aggressive move, especially since he came so far south,” he said.
The Minister of Defense provided a map showing the trajectory of the ship and a video identifying it. HiwangsingAn intelligence building.
Mr Dutton called on voters not to support Labor leader Anthony Albanese: “This is a big risk in this election.” Do not support Mr. Albanese because they (Labor) do not take the defense seriously, ”he said.
Last November, a Chinese spy ship appeared in Darwin (north) in a special economic zone.
“They may be in those areas just like we went to the South China Sea. So we’re not fussing about it, ”Scott Morrison said at the time.
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