Australian P-8 aircraft tracks four Chinese warships north of Palau

Defence is likely to call on Papua New Guinea and other Pacific neighbours to help monitor four Chinese warships that could soon head towards Australia.

Officials have confirmed a Royal Australian Air Force P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane closely tracked Beijing’s high-powered naval flotilla in the Philippine Sea overnight, but the military says it’s still unclear where it’s likely to sail next.

During a wide-ranging parliamentary hearing, the Army has also conceded its new American battle tanks don’t carry anti-drone protection, while the Defence chief has faced questions over the growing proportion of star-ranked officers in his military ranks.

Addressing senate estimates, Defence Chief Admiral David Johnston gave an update on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) task group which is currently operating around 500 nautical miles north of the Micronesia archipelago of Palau.

“We are aware the task group is composed of four ships, a Yushen landing helicopter dock assault, a Renhai-class cruiser, a Jiangkai-class frigate and Fuchi-class replenishment vessel,” Admiral Johnston told the committee.

“An Australian P-8 observed the task group on the evening of the second of December in the Philippine Sea, approximately 500 nautical miles north of Palau”.

“I have previously stated that we have seen a greater PLA Navy presence in our immediate region in recent years, and we do expect to see future PLA in extended area deployments.

Admiral Johnston said the ADF would continue to monitor this task group “as we learn more about its direction, its purpose and an intent”, but did not reveal if the warships appeared to be moving closer to Australia.

Asked if the task group was likely to head into Australian waters, the Defence Chief said it was “possible” and insisted he was “very confident in our capacity, alongside our partners, to monitor the movements of the task group”.

“If they move into the southwest Pacific, we would work with our Pacific partners in that area, the French in New Caledonia, PNG - so it very much depends on where the ships might proceed. Of course, we work closely with the United States at all times.”

“I am very confident that, depending on where the task group goes, and certainly … if it were to get closer to Australia, in our ability to provide air based surveillance, maritime based surveillance, where it’s relevant. But it, of course, depends on what the task group does.”

Overnight a New Zealand-based company that provides monitoring expertise for governments and insurers worldwide, published images appearing to show the Chinese flotilla operating in the Philippine Sea.

“While standard monitoring systems showed empty ocean, Starboard successfully detected and tracked this “dark” PLA(N) Surface Action Group in the Philippine Sea,” the Starboard Maritime Intelligence firm wrote online.

“We identified a Type 075 LHD, Type 052D Destroyer, Type 054A Frigate, and Type 903A Replenishment vessel. This formation represents a significant projection of expeditionary power, capable of operating untethered from shore-based ports for extended periods.”

Earlier this week Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the ADF was monitoring the PLA-N task group saying: “We maintain a constant maritime domain awareness in our geographic areas of interest.”

Under questioning by Greens Senator David Shoebridge, the Defence Chief also conceded the Australian military was too top-heavy and that efforts were underway to reduce the number of star-ranked officers.

According to Admiral Johnston, the ADF has 248 star-ranked officers, which is one of the highest concentrations of top brass in the world compared to the overall size of the force.

“The number of chiefs keeps increasing, the amount of gold braid keeps increasing but the number of people actually delivering the work, stays pretty flat. How is it that you keep getting more 1-star and above generals and the like?”, Senator Shoebridge said.

“I am very conscious of the size of the star-ranked positions,” Admiral Johnston responded, while explaining that extra senior commanders had been appointed as the ADF grew overall and new complex roles such as space and cyber were introduced.

“We have introduced a process that has us reviewing every one of those positions over a cyclic basis to determine the work value associated with them, the military expertise required of them, the rank level associated with them.”

“We are running through all the positions to determine what the appropriate rank level is. We’ve applied similar criteria for new positions when they may be considered, to ensure they’re the subject of a test.”

Appearing at Wednesday’s hearing, the Army’s head of Land Capability, Major General Richard Vagg also admitted that Australia’s new M1A2 Abrams tanks are defenceless against drone attacks.

“The tanks as they sit today don’t have an anti-drone capacity,” he told Senate Estimates, while confirming all 75 of the US tanks had arrived in Australia at a cost of $2.38bn.

General Vagg insisted the Army’s counter drone program was a separate endeavour, that “is not only delivering a range of sensors and effectors to counter drones, it’s also informing how we train our soldiers, aviators and sailors, to deal with drones”.