A commercial flight from Sydney to Christchurch was directly warned by the Chinese military to avoid a section of airspace on Tuesday morning as its warships reportedly conducted live-fire drills in the area.
The warning, issued to flight UAE3HJ at around 11am Sydney time, came amid concerns over increased Chinese military activity in international waters about 340 nautical miles southeast of the city, ABC News reported.
The incident prompted multiple airlines, including Qantas and Air New Zealand, to divert flights following formal advice from air traffic controllers.
Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, said airplanes crossing the Tasman Sea were forced to change course after China issued an alert about its exercises, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Australian military, however, did not observe any live fire despite movements consistent with such drills.
China’s foreign ministry defended the drills. The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command “organised the Chinese fleet to conduct a far seas exercise”, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
“The drill was carried out in a safe, standard, and professional manner in accordance with relevant international law and international practice.”
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged the military exercises but refrained from criticising China. “This is activity that has occurred in waters consistent with international law,” he said, adding that “there has been no risk of danger to any Australian or New Zealand assets”.
Mr Albanese said he had spoken with his defence and foreign ministers as well as New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon about the matter.
Mr Marles expressed concern over the lack of prior notification from Beijing. “We weren’t notified by China; we became aware of the issue during the course of the day,” he told ABC Radio Perth. “What China did was put out a notification that it was intending to engage in live fire, and by that I mean a broadcast that was picked up by airlines–literally commercial planes flying across the Tasman.”
Foreign minister Penny Wong was expected to raise the matter with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
“We will be discussing this with the Chinese and already have at an official level in relation to the notice given and the transparency provided regarding these exercises,” she said, adding that Australian officials were closely monitoring the situation.
The New Zealand government confirmed that it was tracking the developments. Defence minister Judith Collins said they were aware of the Chinese task group’s movements but had received no confirmation of live-fire activity.
“Australia and New Zealand are working closely together to monitor the Task Group and gather information on today’s notification. Like Australia, our primary concern is the safety of our people, vessels, and aircraft,” Ms Collins said.
Opposition figures in Australia accused the government of showing weakness in dealing with China’s military actions. Shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie condemned the government’s response, claiming it was failing to defend national interests.
“The Chinese government has built a blue-water navy to project power into the Pacific region. They are now using gunboat diplomacy to test US allies like Australia,” Mr Hastie said. “When will the prime minister and his defence minister stand up for Australia and insist on mutual respect from their Chinese counterparts?”
The Australian and International Pilots Association also weighed in, describing the situation as an inconvenience. Vice president Captain Steve Cornell remarked: “Whilst it was unusual to have Chinese warships in this part of the world, pilots often have to contend with obstacles to safe navigation, whether that be from military exercises, rocket launches, space debris, or volcanic eruptions. That being said, it’s a big bit of ocean, and you would think they could have parked somewhere less inconvenient whilst they flexed their muscles.”
The incident came just days after Australian Air Marshal Robert Chipman met with senior Chinese military leader General Xu Qiling in Beijing. It was the first such meeting since 2019.
Beijing informed Australia it had cancelled planned live-fire exercises ahead of the meeting to avoid disrupting diplomatic discussions. However, it made no commitment regarding future military activities.
China has been growing its military presence in the region.
On Thursday, Mr Marles said Australian ships and aircraft were working “very closely” with New Zealand’s military to monitor a Chinese naval task force moving southeast along Australia’s east coast.
Reports suggested that the flotilla, consisting of a Jiangki-class frigate, a Renhai-class cruiser, and a Fuchi-class replenishment vessel, had been operating in the Coral Sea within Australia’s exclusive economic zone before shifting south.
Defence officials in Canberra previously confirmed a separate incident which saw a Chinese fighter jet release flares in front of an Australian military aircraft, describing the interaction as “unsafe and unprofessional.”
Ms Collins called the presence of Chinese warships a “significant” event. Speaking to RNZ’s Morning Report, she said the vessels were the most sophisticated seen this far south.
“At the moment, they’re just complying with international law,” she said. “They’re entitled to do this under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. But they are certainly significant vessels.”
The New Zealand defence minister criticised Beijing for failing to provide prior notice of the strike force’s arrival. “The Chinese government and Chinese embassy gave New Zealand no warning that it would be sending such a highly capable strike force with enormous strike power into the region,” she said.
The minister said New Zealand was using “highly intelligent” aircraft to monitor the situation in collaboration with Australian forces.
She described the situation as a “wake-up call” and said it demonstrated that geographical distance no longer ensured security. “It’s real evidence that our distance means nothing now,” Ms Collins said, warning that New Zealand should not become complacent about its defence capabilities.
