New Zealand’s defence minister, Judith Collins, has warned that Chinese warships located off the east coast of Australia are armed with “extremely capable” weapons that could reach Australia. The three vessels, known as Taskgroup 107, conducted two live-fire exercises in international waters between Australia and New Zealand last week, prompting commercial flights to be diverted.
Collins expressed concerns over the short warning given by China before the exercise on Friday, describing it as “unusual”. She revealed that the Chinese warships have a reported anti-ship ballistic missile range of 540 nautical miles. However, Collins emphasized that they do not appear to be nuclear-powered and are unlikely to carry nuclear weapons.
The New Zealand navy is closely monitoring the vessels, and Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that senior defence officials are keeping a close eye on them as well. China’s actions have been deemed compliant with international law, but Collins criticized the limited notice given by China before the firing exercise.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/24/extremely-capable-weapons-on-chinese-warships-off-australias-east-coast-nz-government-says