Testing a Rival’s Response: China’s Gray Zone Tactics in Australia: China’s gradual incremental power projection in Australian waters is a calculated gray zone strategy.

Geopolitical competition between major powers the United States and China continues to intensify in the Indo-Pacific region. Beyond economic rivalry, both nations use gray zone tactics – coercive strategies that remain below the threshold of war – to project power in each other’s sphere of influence.

Australia, a key U.S. ally, is seeing these tactics firsthand.

A recent example is China’s naval activity near Australian shores. Last February, three Chinese naval vessels carried out live-fire exercises in international waters in the Tasman Sea before continuing their navigation around the Australian continent. Later, the dual-purpose vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao traveled west along Australia’s southern coastline after a joint research mission with New Zealand.