(MENAFN) Australia has announced that it is monitoring a Chinese naval group operating in the Philippine Sea, with officials expressing concern that the vessels could potentially head toward Australian waters, according to reports.

Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that authorities will continue tracking the flotilla until they are fully certain it is not moving in Australia’s direction. He explained, “We monitor it closely and do it through all of the geographic areas of interest and that includes as far away as north-east Asia, which is one of the stated areas of national interest.”

Marles noted that the Australian Defense Force maintains operations to the country’s north and deploys necessary assets in regions considered strategically important. However, he chose not to reveal the “direct source” of the monitoring information. He added, “Be assured that we have maritime domain awareness across the areas and we know what is happening and we continue that.”

In response to the remarks from Canberra, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that Chinese naval forces “consistently respect and adhere” to international laws and conduct their maritime operations in line with global legal standards, according to reports.

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