February 26, 2025
Anthony Albanese’s ability to stand up to Beijing has been questioned again after he was accused of misleading the public claiming Australia was given prior warning of a Chinese live fire exercise on Friday.
Australia’s Defence Force chief, Admiral David Johnston fronted Senate estimates on Wednesday and said defence was notified the Chinese were conducting the drills by AirServices Australia who had, in turn, received a call from a Virgin Australia pilot.
It comes in stark contrast to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's statements on Friday and Saturday claiming China issued an alert for the live fire exercises.
On Wednesday, he also said the notification from the New Zealand Navy and the Virgin pilot were received "at around the same time".
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson skewered the Prime Minister during estimates and urged him to admit Australia was "never notified".
“It’s remarkable that Australia was relying on civilian aircraft for early warning about military exercises by a formidable foreign task group in our region," Mr Paterson said.
“The Prime Minister’s attempt to mislead the public by suggesting there was notice given by the PLA-N and it was reported through military channels in a timely way is yet more evidence of his weak leadership.
“He should be honest, admit we were never notified, and call out this malign behaviour instead of making excuses for the People’s Liberation Army-Navy.”
At 9.58am on Friday, the Virgin pilot, who had flown within 250 nautical miles of the operation zone, was contacted by the Chinese vessels and warned, in English, there were live-fire drills taking place in the area.
Admiral Johnston said the Chinese had advised during the call of a firing window between 9.30am to 3pm but the notification was received almost half an hour after the exercises commenced.
AirServices Australia issued a hazard alert within two minutes and established a 18km exclusion zone around the Chinese warships.
The aviation safety agency, 10 minutes later, notified the ADF Joint Operations Command Headquarters.
At 11.01am, the New Zealand navy, which was responsible for shadowing the Chinese flotilla, informed the ADF of the activity which was occurring within Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
Admiral Johnston said the Chinese, who had conducted the drills in international waters in accordance with international law, had given “inadequate notification” as the call was made after the firing window had begun.
Senator Paterson pushed back and said the Chinese had given “no notification at all” prior to the commencement of the exercise.
“That's not ‘inadequate’, that’s after it started,” Mr Paterson said.
“It’s not really notification of an upcoming exercise if we only find out about it after it has commenced, is it?”
Admiral Johnston said the ADF could not be “definitive” the Chinese had not made an earlier call and was only made aware of the call relayed by the civil aircraft.
The ADF chief said the expectation, in accordance with international practice, was that vessels on the high seas are forewarned of live-fire drills and provided with 48 hours of notice to minimise disruption.
Admiral Johnston said what was “more peculiar” about the Chinese ships travelling to the south of Australia was that they had previously transited through the region on return from counter-piracy patrols, but this time they travelled straight from southeast Asia.
“We have seen Chinese vessels in our waters to the east and south of the country previously, but just not in the form that we are currently observing,” he said.
Senator Paterson pressed the Admiral on Australia’s own surveillance of the Chinese ships which had not been continuous.
Admiral Johnston said Australia had cooperated with New Zealand in sharing surveillance responsibilities based on the “best disposition of military platforms” at the time.