Russia is sending warships toward Australia ahead of the G20 meeting, according to Australian media reports on Wednesday. At the same time, NATO has made claims that Russia is deploying troops into eastern Ukraine.
Australian officials have confirmed that the warships are being monitored, and added that the “movement of these vessels is entirely consistent with provisions under international law for military vessels to exercise freedom of navigation in international waters,” reported SMH.com.au. They are presently “transiting through international waters to the north of Australia,” the Australian defense agency stated
Defense Force chief Mark Binskin noted its unusual for Russian warships to travel this, suggesting that the Kremlin is attempting to display its power.
“Their confidence? One of them is an ocean-going tug,” he told the website. “It’s just part of their operation. They are in international waters. They are allowed to do that. They are in our approaches and we will continue to surveil them with air and maritime assets.”
Australian officials noted that Russia sent naval warships ahead of international meetings in the past.
“Russian naval vessels have previously been deployed in conjunction with major international summits, such as the APEC meeting in Singapore in 2009. A warship from Russia’s Pacific Fleet also accompanied former Russian President Medvedev’s visit to San Francisco in 2010,” the Defense Force said.
