Incident Between Australian and Chinese Vessels Shows China's Use of Gray Zone Tactics

The incident between HMAS Toowoomba and CNS Ningbo how China will use gray zone tactics to show its displeasure towards countries' actions in territories it claims as it own.

Global Times Political Times About Australia-China Relations

On November 14^th, an incident occurred between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The incident occurred when the CNS Ningbo operated its hull-mounted sonar as RAN divers were in the water clearing fishing nets tangled in the ship’s propellors.

On November 14^th, an incident occurred between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The incident occurred when the CNS Ningbo operated its hull-mounted sonar as RAN divers were in the water clearing fishing nets tangled in the ship’s propellers. The RAN reported that some of the divers received slight injuries from the sonar pulses. However, the Australian government acknowledged the incident on November 18^th, approximately four days after it occurred. The acknowledgement also came one day after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping 习近平 on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in San Franscico. The Chinese government released two statements refuting Australia’s recounting of the incident and that it hoped that Australia will continue to work with China to improve relations. The incident illustrates how China will use gray zone tactics to show its displeasure towards countries operating in areas it claims as territorial waters.  

Images of the HMAS Toowoomba and CNS Ningbo

Incident

The HMAS Toowoomba – an Anzac-class frigate – was in international waters located in Japan’s EEZ located in western Japan. The frigate was in the region to supporting U.N. sanctions enforcement operations against North Korea. Toowoomba was sailing through international waters in Japan’s EEZ to conduct a scheduled port visit when fishing nets began tangled in its propellers. The ship stopped to conduct a clearing operation by sending divers into the water to remove the nets. The vessel informed vessels in the surrounding area of the operation through normal maritime channels and internationally recognized signals both before and during the operation. One of the vessels that acknowledged the Toowoomba’s message was the CNS Ningbo – a Sovremenny-class destroyer – also operating in the area. However, the Ningbo advanced towards the Toowoomba after the clearing operation began with the Toowoomba communicating that the operation was underway and requested the ship keep clear. While the Ningbo acknowledged the warnings, it continued to advance closer to RAN vessel. After it came close to the Toowoomba, the Ningbo began to operate its hull-mounted sonar while the divers were in the water. The operation was suspended, and the divers were immediately pulled out of the water due to the danger posed by the operating sonar. The vessel’s medical staff examined the divers, with reports indicating at least one diver received minor injuries to their ears due to being exposed to sonar pulses.

Australian and Chinese Reactions

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Australia

The Australian government’s reaction comprised the Ministry of Defense releasing a statement on November 18^th and PM Albanese commented about the incident during a Sky News interview. The Defense Ministry released a statement about the incident on November 18^th, approximately four days after the incident occurred. The statement gave a detailed summary of the incident with it specifically mentioning how the Ningbo advanced towards the Toowoomba during the operation while also acknowledging the ship’s warnings. The ministry also expressed its concern and characterized the Ningbo’s actions as ‘unsafe and unprofessional conduct.’ The statement also said it expected all countries’ militaries’, including China’s, to conduct military operations in a professional and safe manner. The ministry also highlighted that it conducted maritime surveillance operations in the region for several decades and done them according to international law. The statement also said that the Australian military conducted these operations exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international airspace and waters.

PM Albanese also spoke about the incident during a Sky News interview on November 20^th, stated that his government raised the incident with China in an appropriate way and very clearly. Albanese also said that they made it very clear that they disagreed with what occurred, raised the strongest possible objection, and that this kind of incident should not occur. He also reiterated that the Australian vessel indicated very clearly – using a signal – that it had divers in the waters untangling a fishing net prior to the incident. However, Albanese did not confirm if he discussed the incident with Xi when they met during the APEC forum on November 16^th. He also skirted around a question the reporter asked regarding the potential for bilateral relations to ‘look shaky’ due to the incident. Albanese said he told Chinese officials that the two countries will cooperate where they are able to but disagree where they must and that this incident is one of those times.

MND Information Officer Director and spokesman Wu Qian 吴谦 and MFA’s Information Department’s Deputy Director Mao Ning 毛宁

China

China’s reaction came in form of statements by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) during press conferences and articles by state media outlets. On November 20^th, the MND Information Officer Director and spokesman Wu Qian 吴谦 made a statement due to receiving a question about the November 14^th incident. Wu said Australia’s account of the incident was inconsistent with the facts and that China opposed and lodged protests with the country. He said Toowoomba was operating in waters near the East China Sea as the Ningbo was conducting tracking, surveillance, identification, and verification, and other measures according to laws and regulations.

The Chinese ships in the area abided by international rules and norms such as the Regulations for Unexpected Encounters at Sea, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. The ships also maintained a safe distance from the Australian vessels and did not conduct any actions that could affect the Toowoomba’s operation. Wu then mentioned that the area is not delimitated between China and Japan and no argument can be made that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) activities are in or entered Japan’s EEZ. He then urged Australia to ‘respect the facts, stop making reckless and irresponsible accusations against China’ and do actions that would increase mutual trust between the two countries.

The MFA’s Information Department’s Deputy Director Mao Ning 毛宁 also made a short statement in response to a question about the incident asked by a Bloomberg reporter. Mao first advised the reporter to check with the relevant authorities for information about the incident. She then stated that the Chinese military is a highly disciplined and always conducted professional operations according to international law and practices. Mao then ended the statement by stating China hopes ‘the relevant parties will stop causing trouble at China’s doorstep’ and work with China to continue to improve and develop relations.

Regarding state media outlets, Global Times – a newspaper connected to the People’s Daily – published an article about the incident on November 19^th. The article refuted Australia’s account of the incident using several Chinese military experts that questioned various aspects of the country’s statement. Firstly, the experts questioned why Australia provided vague information about the incident, specifically the location where the incident occurred and the injuries the divers sustained. One expert speculated that the area where the incident could be west of Japan (the Senkakus) that are disputed between China and Japan. The expert then said that if it did occur in that area, then it is likely that Japan’s EEZ overlaps China’s administered waters. Another military expert stated that the incident likely occurred near the Diaoyus (China’s name for the Senkakus), near Taiwan, or close to the PLAN exercise. He also said that it was obvious that the Toowoomba provoked the Chinese vessel by being in the area. The analysts also questioned why Australia did not provide proof of the diver’s injuries beyond the ‘vague wording’ in the Defense Ministry’s statement. They then put forward that there is no proof that injuries occurred due to the diver’s exposure to the sonar pulses.

Another aspect of Australia’s statement the analysts critiqued was Australia did not mention what the Chinese crew stated during the communications between the Ningbo and Toowoomba. The analysts specifically pointed out how the Defense Ministry’s statement was ‘one-sided’ since it did not mention the Chinese side. They said that the reason why Australia omitted it was due to the Ningbo issuing verbal warnings about entering Chinese territorial waters that the Toowoomba ignored.

The experts then explained why the destroyer would use its sonar when the Australian divers were in the water. One reason why the Ningbo used its sonar is to send a warning to the Toowoomba since it ignored its verbal warnings. One expert said that pinging with sonar is a means to communicate and that it was likely used to warn the RAN vessel to leave the area. Another reason the destroyer used its sonar was to detect the actual intentions of the Australian vessel if is close to or inside Chinese waters. They then state that Australian sailors will be safe if they stay out of Chinese territorial waters and that we (Australia and China) should deal with the current situation and willingly escalate it.

Analysis: The incident between the HMAS Toowoomba and the CNS Ningbo likely occurred because the Australian vessel was in the vicinity of the disputed area of the Senkakus. The phrases used in the both the MFA and MND statements along with the Global Times article points to this since it indicates that area where the incident occurred is not delimited by either China or Japan. Specifically, the MND statement saying the Toowoomba was operating near the East China Sea during the incident indicates that this was likely case. Furthermore, the Global Times article also indirectly correlates this since the experts asks if the Australian vessel was near or inside the disputed area – specifically the Diaoyus – when the incident occurred. Another aspect is how the MND statement was how the Ningbo was on a tracking, surveillance, identification, and verification mission along with other vessels during the incident. The Ningbo’s mission indicates that it was one of the PLAN vessels currently conducting overwatch for the Chinese Coast Guard’s presence patrols near the Senkakus.

The Australian government delay the release of the press release indicates that it wanted to wait until after the prime minister met with Xi during the APEC forum in the United States. The reason why the current government chose this course of action was due to incident occurring only one week after Prime Minister’s Albanese’s trip to China to reset relations with the country. The government wanted to wait until after the APEC forum to release the statement since it could cause significant domestic backlash towards the Australian government’s reset of relations with China. However, the Albanese government informing the Chinese government of its strong disagreement privately – including during Xi and Albanese’s meeting on the sidelines of the PAEC forum – illustrating that they will voice their disagreement and opposition to Chinese actions. However, the delay caused several in the opposition shadow government to question Albanese’s strategy at rapprochement with China, even if it means China reinstating its trade bans on various Australian products such as wine, lobsters, and coal.

The most concerning aspect of the incident was China’s use and rationalization of sonar as a warning to the Australian vessel when divers were in the water. China’s rationalization to use sonar pulses to determine the intentions of and warn the vessel to leave Chinese territorial waters shows China’s willingness to use gray zone tactics to enforce its territorial claims. Furthermore, it also showed China’s ability to effectively use these tactics to show its displeasure when nations enter its perceived territorial waters, even if it means setting back bilateral relations with the country. However, China’s use of sonar pulses to warn the Toowoomba also indicates China’s wishes to rewrite international conduct on the open seas in its favor. For example, rationalization of its use of sonar pulses as a warning to leave its territorial waters even when the RAN divers could have received more significant injuries or die due to being exposed to Ningbo’s sonar pulses. The use rationalization could also be used to rationalize other illegitimate behaviors such as firing warning shots at Philippine vessels conducting resupply vessels to Second Thomas Shoal or other islands in the South China Sea. Furthermore, it also could allow China to rationalize other behavior such as using naval gunfire to warn civilian protestors away from the Senkakus or other areas claimed by China.