Chinese warship near WA

A Chinese warship has been tracked off the coast of Western Australia, Defence Minister Peter Dutton has revealed. Dutton said yesterday the ship, which had intelligencegathering capabilities, had come into Australia’s exclusive economic zone and was ‘‘hugging the coastline’’. He said the ship was sighted at 6am local time yesterday, about 250 nautical miles (460km) northwest of Broome. ‘‘It is unusual in terms of the way in which it has come so far south, and the way it’s hugging the coastline as it heads up in the direction of Darwin,’’ Dutton said. ‘‘It is an aggressive act, particularly because it has come so far south . . . without precedent.’’ He said Australian authorities were monitoring the situation.