China's Defence Ministry said on Sunday Australia had made “unreasonable accusations” and deliberately hyped the situation after three planes headed to New Zealand changed course in midflight because of live-fire drills by the Chinese Navy.
Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said she sought an explanation from her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, when the two met in Johannesburg on Saturday following a gathering of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 nations.
But he also said the Australian Navy would typically give 12 to 24 hours’ notice of a live-fire exercise to give airlines time to plan around it.
The flights diverted and no one was put in danger, Australian defence minister Richard Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
The presence of the three Chinese warships in the region – a frigate, a cruiser and a replenishment vessel – had gotten the attention of the Australian and New Zealand militaries earlier last week.
