I don't think there was any issue with them being undetected. The issue is with their commencing live fire exercises without warning, about which China is, I'm guessing, lying.
Australia has had "over the horizon" radar for decades. It's part of our defence network and detects air and sea movements to our north. Sure the Chinese ships would have means to suppress radar detection but I'd bet even so, our guys knew the ships were there long before they got near here.
It's not too many years ago that there were allied war games in the Coral Sea and the Chinese turned up, unannounced, to 'observe'. No one saw them coming either.
Then when it was over, they docked in Sydney and emptied supermarkets and pharmacies of their baby formula stocks.
Maybe too busy looking at the war games, while bouncing golf balls off the large golf balls at the facility. No dish there that I can see!
[image from Dept of Def]
The dishes are actually inside the large golf balls.
I lived in Alice for 2 years 2008/2009 and met many a Pine Gap Yank. When asked what they did there, they all said they were Gardeners, except for one who said he washed Submarines 🤔😬. They had the best Garage sales when they went Home.
Cricket is a "winter" sport in Alice. I played club cricket there for two seasons and we did have a few Yanks playing(with all sorts of abilities 😬). Pine Gap has sporting facilties but no cricket pitch 😁🤪.
Comments
If there had been warning, this wouldn't have happened.
Apparently Marles has said they didn't do anything naughty but the would spoil the MooreDick story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jindalee_Operational_Radar_Network
Then when it was over, they docked in Sydney and emptied supermarkets and pharmacies of their baby formula stocks.
[image from Dept of Def]
I lived in Alice for 2 years 2008/2009 and met many a Pine Gap Yank. When asked what they did there, they all said they were Gardeners, except for one who said he washed Submarines 🤔😬. They had the best Garage sales when they went Home.
As someone who lived within a reasonable distance, just how big are those golfballs?
And if dish shaped, then you can't smack that ball over the fence!