New Zealand sends surveillance aircraft to monitor Chinese navy ships

Thursday, 20 February 2025

China reacts after a New Zealand navy ship sails through Taiwan Straight with a Japanese destroyer

Defence Minister Judith Collins says a surveillance plane and naval vessel have been sent into the Tasman Sea to monitor a task force of Chinese military ships.

Collins on Thursday said the Chinese ships had been in the middle of the Tasman Sea, which divides New Zealand and Australia, and had “huge capacity” for launching missiles.

“You’re talking about one of the most advanced ships in the world,” she told The Post.

She confirmed the vessels were being monitored by “air and sea” by both New Zealand and Australia. She said a New Zealand P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft had been sent, but she would not disclose which naval vessel.

The People’s Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang is being closely watched by the New Zealand and Australian forces.

'I'm not quite sure what they're doing right now, but they're between Australia and New Zealand. They have huge capacity these ships - really, really amazing capacity.“

A week ago, Australia’s defence department confirmed it was monitoring the three Chinese vessels, the frigate Hengyang, cruiser Zunyi, and replenishment ship Weishanhu, which were then travelling north east of Australia.

China has not notified New Zealand of what its vessels are doing in the Tasman Sea, and a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson declined to comment on its movements at a press conference on Wednesday.

The vessels’ presence in the Tasman Sea comes as Foreign Minister Winston Peters heads to China to meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Collins said such Chinese military vessels had not been this far south before.

A man raises his phone to record near the main canon of the Chinese guided-missile destroyer Guiyang during a public day marking the 75th anniversary of Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province in April last year.

A Chinese navy cruiser and destroyer vessel had been in Port Vila in Vanuatu at the end of 2024. Collins said New Zealand had similarly sent air and sea assets to monitor that movement.

“Our engagements are always professional. There's nothing surprising about them. We’re very careful.”

New Zealand in 2024 sailed the HMNZS Aotearoa, a navy tanker vessel, through the Taiwan Strait in a rare military exercise. The status of the strait is contested by China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has threatened to forcibly seize its territory.

Similarly, under the United Nations law of the sea, the vessels could come into New Zealand’s waters.

“They are able to do that … they're not doing anything illegal at the moment that we're aware of. But it's certainly an interesting development.

“They have enormous capacity, and people just need to realise that this is not a cruise ship coming by.”

She said the ships were “not concerning, it’s just different”.

“It’s a bit like the ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile], when China decided in October to fly one … across from China, right across the Pacific, to land just north of French Polynesia.

“When I’ve asked about it, I was told it was routine. Well, the last time you did it was 44 years ago.

“There’s public statements about taking back Taiwan. Activities around Vietnam and islands which are really concerning to countries in that region. Activity around Philippines and the South China Sea.

“So there are activities that are quite aggressive. And this is not something that was happening 10 or 15 years ago.”

These were “challenging times”, she said.