Australia warns airlines to beware of Chinese naval exercises in the Tasman Sea

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia warned airlines flying between Australian airports and New Zealand on Friday to beware of Chinese warships potentially conducting a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea, causing several flights to be diverted and raising questions about whether China had given adequate notice of the danger.

Regulator Airservices Australia warned commercial pilots of a potential hazard in airspace between the countries as three Chinese warships conduct exercises off the Australian east coast, officials said.

But three flights from Sydney bound for the New Zealand cities of Christchurch and Queenstown were in the air before they were first warned of a live-fire exercise by a Chinese warship in their path, news media reported.

The warships — frigate Hengyang, cruiser Zunyi and replenishment vessel Weishanhu — are exercising a freedom of navigation in international waters off the Australian east coast of a kind that angers Beijing when exercised by the Australian military in the disputed South China Sea.

China had given notice that the warships could potentially fire live weapons during an exercise, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

During a regular Chinese foreign ministry briefing on Friday, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China’s military had organized its fleet to conduct high seas exercises. “The drill was carried out in a safe, standard and professional manner in compliance with relevant international law and international practice” Guo said.

Australian defense officials were uncertain whether any live fire of weapons had occurred. The risk had since passed, Albanese said.

“There was no imminent risk of danger to any Australian assets or New Zealand assets,” Albanese told reporters, citing information from his Defense Ministry.

New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins agreed in a statement there was “no ongoing danger” to her country.

New Zealand was “aware of the notification of a possible live firing activity,” she said, but there was no confirmation that there had been any weapon fired. She added that New Zealand was working closely with Australia to gather information on Friday’s events.

New Zealand’s aviation regulator did not issue warnings. The Civil Aviation Authority said it was “aware” of the Australian advice, according to a statement. The authority did not explain its decision.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she would discuss the air service disruption when she meets her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a G20 ministers meeting underway in South Africa.

“We will be discussing this with the Chinese, and we already have at officials level, in relation to the notice given and the transparency that is being provided in relation to these exercises, particularly the live-fire exercises,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp. from Johannesburg.

Flight monitoring websites showed multiple flights had avoided an area between Australia and New Zealand.

Air New Zealand, the country’s national carrier, said in a statement it had “modified flight paths as needed to avoid the area, with no impact on our operations.”

Virgin Australia said it was following Airservices Australia instructions, but did not say whether its New Zealand services had been diverted.

Pilots of Virgin, Qantas and Emirates flights from Sydney to New Zealand diverted their courses after hearing one of the warships broadcast a warning of an imminent live-fire exercise, Nine Network television reported.

Qantas and Emirates did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Australian and New Zealand military ships and P-8 Poseidon surveillance planes have been monitoring the Chinese warships for days.

Chinese warships rarely venture so far south in a deployment regarded as a demonstration of the Chinese navy’s growing size and capabilities.

Captain Steve Cornell, vice president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, which represents Qantas pilots, was critical of where the Chinese choose to hold their exercise.

“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 such as this or other events like rocket launches, space debris or volcanic eruptions,” Cornell said.

“That being said, it’s a big bit of ocean and you would think that they could have parked somewhere less inconvenient whilst they flexed their muscles,” he added.

The Chinese exercise was legal and took place in international waters outside Australia’s exclusive economic zone, Albanese said.