The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, on Saturday said the Australian government had expressed “serious concerns” to Chinese officials after Australia’s HMAS Toowoomba encountered a People’s Liberation Army-Navy destroyer.
The Toowoomba was in international waters in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, having worked to enforce United Nations sanctions, and was on its way to a scheduled port visit when fishing nets became entangled around its propellers.
I get that we don’t want to start a war over a relatively “minor” incident, but a foreign military attacking our military personnel? How is that acceptable in the slightest?