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Albanese ‘would prefer’ Chinese research vessel was not off the coast of Australia

Anthony Albanese says he “would prefer” a Chinese research vessel was not sitting off the coast of Victoria and stressed it will be closely monitored by the Australian defence force.The research vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao was directly south of the Victorian town of Portland on Monday afternoon and travelling west after a port call in Wellington. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email“I would prefer that it wasn’t there,” Albanese told reporters. “But we live in circumstances where, just as Australia has vessels in the South China Sea and vessels in the Taiwan Strait and a range of areas, this vessel is there.“It’s been in New Zealand on a joint research operation and this isn’t the first time that a similar vessel has been around the Australian coast. It occurred in 2020, just to give one example. Australia, as you would expect, is monitoring this.”Another Chinese research vessel, the Xiang Yang Hong 01, was detected and tracked in Australian waters in 2020.The Tan Suo Yi Hao…