Chinese spy vessel spotted near Western Australia's coast, claims Australia's Defence Min

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton claimed that a Chinese spy vessel has been detected on Western Australia's coastline, not far from a secret naval facility. The ship, according to the Australian Defence Minister, is a "warship with intelligence-gathering capacity" that is currently "hugging the coastline." According to Australian media reports, Dutton called the ship's act aggressive.

Dutton stated, "It is obviously very strange that it has come this far south and it is hugging the coastline as it goes north, and its intention will be to collect as much electronic intelligence as it can. It is strange timing and without precedent."

The battleship has travelled as far south as Exmouth, according to Dutton, and is now heading north toward Darwin. Australian surveillance aircraft are now tracking the vessel. It was seen 250 nautical miles northwest of Broome and is travelling northeast at 12 knots, according to Dutton. The surveillance vessel, the Australian Defence Minister believed, wanted a closer look at the Harold E Holt naval communication post.

Exmouth site offers radio transmission to US and Australian submarines

It is pertinent to mention here that North of Exmouth site offers radio transmission to US and Australian submarines operating in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans. It is the Southern Hemisphere's most powerful transmission station. If surveillance warships are in the area, he said, the international protocol is to alert Australian authorities.

Dutton claimed, "That hasn't happened. It is best that people are made fully aware of what is a very unusual path and course that they have taken."

The ship is a PLA-N Dongdiao Class Auxiliary Intelligence ship named Haiwangxing, according to the Department of Defense. On the morning of May 6, the Haiwangxing sailed into Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone. The Harold E Holt Communication Station (HEHCS), north of Exmouth, was 70 nautical miles away by May 8. It had headed north and was 50 nautical miles away from HEHCS around May 11. It then sped north, and on May 13, it was discovered off the coast of Broome, on its way to Darwin.

(With agency inputs)