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China warships leave Sydney after surprise visit "raises hackles"

Published 06/07/2019, 02:08 PM
Updated 06/07/2019, 02:10 PM
China warships leave Sydney after surprise visit "raises hackles"

SYDNEY, June 7 (Reuters) - Three Chinese warships sailed out
of Sydney on Friday after an unannounced visit that came amid a
tussle for influence between Australia and China in the Pacific.
The show-of-force call by a frigate, supply ship and
amphibious warfare vessel was planned but never announced by
Canberra.
"That raised a lot of hackles," John Blaxland, professor of
international security and intelligence studies at the
Australian National University in Canberra, told the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation on Friday.
"The ships arrived off Darling Point and other famous places
in Sydney's harbour without people knowing in advance ... and
with armed soldiers and sailors on the decks of the ships
looking fairly aggressive."
They left for China under leaden skies in the early
afternoon.
The warships had arrived on the eve of the 30th anniversary
of China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and
around Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Photos showed members
of the Chinese community waiting at the navy wharf where the
ships docked to greet the sailors.
"It was a reciprocal visit because Australian naval vessels
visited China," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told
reporters in the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara this week.
"So it may have been a surprise to others, but it certainly
wasn't a surprise to the government."
Ties between Australia and China hit a low last year when
Canberra passed laws aimed at thwarting Chinese influence in
domestic affairs and also over China's assertiveness in the
disputed South China Sea.
Australia has offered diplomatic support to U.S. "freedom of
navigation" voyages through the South China Sea.


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