30 minutes in the dark: defence forces didn’t know about Chinese live-fire exercises

Airservices Australia’s chief executive Rob Sharp told estimates his organisation only found out the Chinese were planning a live-firing exercise at 9.58am on Friday, half an hour after it began.

“It was, in fact, Virgin Australia advising that a foreign warship was broadcasting that they were conducting live firing 300 nautical miles east of our coast,” Sharp said. “That was how we first found out about the issue.”

After two weeks prowling the waters near Australia, the Chinese flotilla re-entered Australia’s exclusive economic zone in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and had been observed 160 nautical miles (296 kilometres) east of Hobart.

“Australia expects all militaries operating in the region to engage transparently, maintain the highest standards of safety and professionalism, and we encourage all states to maintain open communication to ensure their actions support regional security and stability,” the ADF said.

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