For nearly a month, Australian forces were on alert as a flotilla of Chinese navy ships made an unannounced voyage around the continent. The ships sailed in and out of Australia’s exclusive economic zone. They fired live shots near commercial airspace, forcing dozens of civilian flights to reroute. They sailed past Perth in Western Australia, days after a visiting U.S. nuclear submarine docked at a nearby naval base.

       Finally, last weekend, the Chinese ships headed north toward Indonesia.

       Australian officials repeatedly assured the public that the Chinese ships’ presence and actions were perfectly legitimate under international law. But the voyage was the farthest south the Chinese military had ever come, and was deeply uncomfortable for Australia.

       It has forced the nation to take a hard look at its own aging fleet, its heavy military dependence on a faraway ally, the United States, and the increasing muscularity of its biggest trading partner, China.

       Image

       The Chinese flotilla included a cruiser, top, and supply vessel, shown in a photo released by the Australian military last month. For nearly a month, Australian forces were on alert over the ships’ movement.Credit...Australian Defense Force

       There was nothing about the deployment of the three Chinese vessels — a cruiser, a frigate and a replenishment tanker — that was technically impressive or strategically significant. China’s formidable navy has long demonstrated the vast distances it can cover and the capabilities of its premier ships.

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       Instead, it ended up highlighting Australia’s inadequacies: its own navy is the oldest and smallest it has been since World War II, analysts and former navy officials say. It has two tankers, which are crucial for navigating long distances, as the Chinese did, but both have been out of commission for months. The two Chinese warships had a combined 144 vertical launch missile cells, while the Royal Australian Navy’s 10 warships, altogether, have 200.

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