Three Chinese warships have been spotted in international waters off the coast of Australia’s largest city, Sydney, in a rare show of military might that will likely test diplomatic ties between Canberra and Beijing.

The Australian navy is shadowing Chinese warships 150 nautical miles east of Sydney, the furthest China’s navy has sailed down the eastern Australian coast. Two Australian ships are following a Chinese naval task group — comprising two warships and a supply vessel — that appeared off the north-eastern coast of Australia a week ago,