Chinese Warships Sail Off Coast of Sydney, Testing Australia

By Ben Westcott and James Mayger

Feb 19, 2025 (Bloomberg) –Three Chinese warships have been spotted in international waters off the coast of Australia’s largest city, Sydney, in a rare show of military might that will likely test diplomatic ties between Canberra and Beijing.

The People’s Liberation Navy’s Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class guided-missile cruiser Zunyi and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu are currently operating off the east coast of Australia, the Department of Defence in Canberra said in an emailed statement late Wednesday.

The Australian government didn’t say how close the warships had come to the heavily populated east coast, but the Financial Times reported they were about 150 nautical miles (280 kilometers) off of Sydney and being shadowed by the Australian navy. If confirmed, that would be within Australia’s exclusive economic zone, which stretches 200 nautical miles from the country’s shores. 

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