CHINESE warships arrived in Sydney Harbour in what was a surprising show of force from Beijing on Monday amid soaring tensions in the South China Sea.
Much to the surprise of the public, three warships entered the harbour on Monday morning following a bold threat from Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe. The People’s Liberation Army-Navy forced arrived in the harbour for a four-day stay following a speech where Mr Fenghe issued a warning to other world powers. During a speech at Asia’s defence summit at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Mr Fenghe warned that if any country interfered in China’s relations with other countries, that it would “fight at all costs”.
Adding to his inflammatory comment, Mr Fenghe said: “The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has no intention to cause anyone trouble but is not afraid to face up to troubles.
“Should anyone risk crossing the bottom line, the PLA will resolutely take action and defeat all enemies.”
Although the Australian Government moved to pacify any suggested threat from China, Rory Medcalf, a national security expert at the Australian National University, warned that it “looks like a serious show of presence”.
Beijing’s move to send warships to Australia comes after Beijing had sent another task force to follow the Australian navy during a transit mission in the South China Sea.