The vessel was spotted during a war exercise and while it is outside Australia’s territorial waters, it has entered its exclusive economic zoneA Chinese spy ship has been spotted off the coast of Queensland during a joint training exercise between Australian and US forces, the defence department has confirmed. The Type 815 Auxiliary General Intelligence (AGI) vessel was sighted during war games, known as Exercise Talisman Sabre, and defence officials told the ABC’s AM program it was a “provocative move”. A statement from the defence department confirmed that the spy ship had remained outside Australia’s territorial waters but had entered its exclusive economic zone. But Euan Graham, from the Lowy Institute, said the presence of the Chinese ship sent “an unfriendly message”. “I personally am not aware of any publicised appearance of an AGI off the Australian coast before,” he told the ABC.

Source: The Guardian July 22, 2017 04:41 UTC