Australia: 49 commercial flights diverted due to Chinese military exercises

Nearly 50 commercial flights were diverted last week due to Chinese military exercises off the coast of Australia , Australian officials told a government hearing on Monday. Last week, three Chinese vessels conducted a series of naval exercises, including potential live-fire exercises, on a busy flight path between Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian Aviation Safety Agency said it learned of the drills when a commercial flight picked up a message from the Chinese ships on Friday morning. "At that stage we were unsure whether it was a genuine message or not," Peter Curran, deputy chief executive of Air Services Australia, told a government hearing on Monday night. "The alert was broadcast on a frequency monitored by commercial pilots but not by Australian air traffic controllers," he said. He said 49 commercial flights, some "in mid-air" , were forced to change course to avoid the firing zone after it became clear the warning messages were genuine.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles acknowledged that the Chinese ships were in international waters and acting within international law, but stressed that Australian warships typically announce such exercises 12 to 24 hours in advance to give airlines time to adjust. China has defended the exercises as being conducted "safely and professionally" but has not said whether live munitions were used.

The Australian military and its New Zealand counterpart have been monitoring three Chinese navy vessels - a frigate, a cruiser and a replenishment tanker - since they were spotted in international waters last week. The vessels were east of Tasmania on Tuesday morning, according to New Zealand's defence ministry.

The incident is the latest in a series of clashes between Australia and China in the airspace or shipping lanes of the Asia-Pacific region. Australia on February 13 accused a Chinese fighter jet of "dangerous" behavior near its military aircraft in the South China Sea, with Beijing accusing Canberra of violating its sovereignty.