Pilots working in commercial air travel have been warned to avoid the airspace between Australia and New Zealand, where Chinese warships conducted live-fire drills on Friday.
Earlier this week, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) said it was keeping a close eye on three Chinese warships that were sighted just 150 nautical miles off Sydney after moving along Australia's east coast in recent days.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on ABC that she will discuss live-fire drills with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the G20 Foreign Ministers ' meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"We have already discussed this at the official level in connection with the notification and transparency provided in relation to these exercises, especially live-fire exercises," she said.
Defense Ministry sources said the live-fire exercise resulted in significant disruptions due to the limited notice period and affected commercial flights.
Sources said that on Friday, the Chinese military informed Australian authorities that they will conduct exercises 640 kilometers east of Eden on the south coast of New South Wales. An 18-kilometer zone of airspace protection at altitudes up to 45,000 feet was introduced.
