South China Sea: Australian warships encounter Chinese navy in disputed waters

Canberra downplays the ‘unplanned interactions’ amid ongoing diplomatic tensions between two countries

Australian warships have encountered the Chinese navy while travelling in the disputed South China Sea at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The Australian government played down the incident – believed to have occurred last week – saying on Thursday that “unplanned interactions with foreign warships throughout the deployment were conducted in a safe and professional manner”.

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