Chinese Ships Possibly Heading to Australia Capable of Carrying Landing Craft, Helicopters

A flotilla of Chinese ships being tracked east of the Philippines includes a vessel that can launch armoured amphibious assault vehicles.

The radar system of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's Type 052D guided-missile destroyer Zhanjiang (165) is displayed as the ship remains docked at Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base on Stonecutters Island in Hong Kong on July 6, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

New satellite images have emerged of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) flotilla, reportedly heading for Australian waters.

Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) was monitoring Chinese ships but declined to provide details on their identity or whereabouts.

On Dec. 3, the real-time vessel intelligence company Starboard released satellite photos of what it says are likely to be the ships sailing towards Australia.

It includes a Type 075 LHD, an amphibious assault ship with a full-length flight deck for helicopter operations, and is capable of carrying up to 30 helicopters and 10,000 marines. It also has a floodable well deck for launching hovercraft and armoured amphibious assault vehicles.

Starboard also says it identified a Type 052D Destroyer, a Type 054A Frigate, and a Type 903A replenishment vessel.

The 025D is equipped with guided missiles, including the YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship missile, thought to have a range of up to 500 km. It also has two triple torpedo tubes. The 054A carries vertically launched surface-to-air missiles.

Like the U.S. Navy, PLAN ships do not broadcast their positions via Automatic Identification System (AIS), a radio-based system used by the maritime industry to monitor and track vessel movements in real time. Ships broadcast their identification, position, course, speed, and other data, allowing other ships and shore stations to track them.

An image showing the current position of the PLAN task group thought to be headed to Australia. Starboard Maritime Intelligence

However, Starboard said on its social media that “while standard monitoring systems showed empty ocean, [it] successfully detected and tracked this ‘dark’ PLAN Surface Action Group in the Philippine Sea.”

When last tracked, it was approximately 260 nautical miles east of the Philippines.

Starboard commented that the ships forming the latest flotilla represented “a significant projection of expeditionary power.”

With the replenishment vessel, thought to be carrying over 11,000 tonnes of fuel and dry stores, the flotilla does not need to call into ports, extending its cruising range to over 10,000 nautical miles, which is enough to enable it to transit around Australia.

Marles told reporters on Dec. 1 that “Defence is monitoring a Chinese PLAN task group, which is currently in the Philippine Sea,” but refused to reveal how many ships or any details of their type and capability.

The monitoring would continue “until we know that they are not coming in the vicinity of Australia,” he said.

He said the ADF did “not have a sense of where [the Surface Action Group] is going,” and wouldn’t speculate on whether it would circumnavigate Australia as another flotilla did earlier this year.

“We absolutely had an unprecedented level of surveillance of that task group by the Royal Australian Navy,” Marles said, “and you can be assured that at any point in the future we will bring that same degree of determination and commitment to any journey that happens in our particular area.”