Bishop shrugs off China navy presence

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has defended China's right to sail in international waters after one of its spy ships was spotted near a joint Australia-US military exercise.

Ms Bishop compared the vessel's presence in the vicinity of the Talisman Sabre war games to Russia sending a ship to waters off Queensland when Brisbane hosted the 2014 G20 Leaders summit.

"My understanding is that the ship didn't enter territorial waters and Australia has long been an advocate of the right of nations to exercise freedom of navigation," she told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.