Defence Minister Richard Marles said China must explain its failure to provide sufficient notice for the live-fire training exercise in the waters between Australia and New Zealand on Friday.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said China must explain its failure to provide sufficient notice for the live-fire training exercise in the waters between Australia and New Zealand on Friday.
By Mike Foley
February 22, 2025 — 9.39am
The Albanese government says China has failed to answer for its lack of notice ahead of a live-fire training exercise in the waters between Australia and New Zealand on Friday, which caused commercial flights to divert their routes.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday morning that China must explain its failure to provide sufficient notice for the exercise, which has been branded a provocative act by defence experts.
This masthead reported on Friday that Qantas said both it and budget offshoot Jetstar temporarily adjusted some flights across the Tasman after receiving warnings of the drills, adding that it was working with the Australian government and broader industry to monitor the situation. Virgin and Emirates flights to New Zealand also received warnings about the exercises.
“It’s just that there was no notice,” Marles told ABC television. “I don’t think we have a satisfactory answer from China in relation to this.”
He said that the incident had not breached international law, but contrasted the Chinese military exercise, conducted 640 kilometres east of Eden on the NSW South Coast, with Australian procedures that prioritise safety for commercial activities.
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“They [China] did so with very little notice and that was the issue that was very disconcerting for the airlines involved,” Marles said.
“We [Australia] would typically give 12 to 24 hours’ notice, which enables aircraft that are going to potentially be in the vicinity to make plans to fly around.
“It’s the responsibility of any navy, any military, to make sure when you then do undertake any live firing you are doing so in a manner which is safe relative to any commercial traffic, be it sea or air, which is in the vicinity.”
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Defence sources told this masthead the Chinese military had informed Australian authorities on Friday it would conduct live fire exercises later that day, which prompted a hasty 18-kilometre airspace protection zone being established, up to a height of 45,000 feet.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, speaking after the incident, said the drill was carried out “in a safe, standard and professional manner in accordance with relevant international law and international practice”.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday she would discuss it with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the government asked for information from Chinese authorities.
The latest incident comes a week after a dangerous encounter between the Australian and Chinese militaries in the South China Sea.
Flight tracking data showed Qantas flight QF121 deviated from its flight path less than an hour into its journey over the Tasman from Sydney to Queenstown late on Friday morning, as did Emirates flight EK412 from Sydney to Christchurch.
Qantas would not confirm whether QF121’s deviation was due to the risk posed by the Chinese warships’ live-fire exercise.
Crew on the NZ frigate HMNZS Te Kaha, which was shadowing the Chinese ships, reported observing behaviour “consistent with a live-fire activity” and monitored the Chinese ships deploying and recovering a floating target.
The NZ crew did not report observing any firing on the target and said there was no indication of any surface-to-air firing.
“This is more about disruption caused rather than risk,” a Defence source said.
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The Australian Defence Force (ADF) said earlier this week it was keeping close watch on three Chinese military ships that had been spotted just 150 nautical miles (277 kilometres) from Sydney after moving steadily down the east coast of Australia over recent days.
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie on Friday said the exercise was “gunboat diplomacy to test US allies like Australia”.
“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.
“When will the prime minister and his defence minister stand up for the Australian national interest and insist on mutual respect from their Chinese counterparts?”
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.
Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
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