Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday the country was monitoring a Chinese research ship in its exclusive economic zone. “It’s been in New Zealand on a joint research operation,” Albanese said when asked about the vessel by a journalist in Perth. According to Australian media, the Chinese vessel is a hi-tech research ship. “This isn’t the first time that a similar vessel has been around the Australian coast. It occurred in 2020, for example … Australia, as you would expect, is monitoring this,” Albanese said. Asked if he knew what sort of research the vessel was conducting and what his government has done to “protect undersea cables”, Albanese said he would not, “for obvious reasons, broadcast everything that we’re doing. But we are keeping an eye on this”. I would prefer that it wasn’t there Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “The Australian Defence Force are monitoring what is happening. It’s going from New Zealand, we expect it to go around to China around that way,” the prime minister continued, adding: “I would prefer that it wasn’t there.” “But we live in circumstances where, just as Australia has vessels in the South China Sea and vessels in the Taiwan Strait and around a range of areas, this vessel is there.” In February, three Chinese naval vessels observed conducting live-firing exercises in international waters off Australia moved closer to the country, causing concern in the region.