Australia, NZ Planes Flew Near Chinese Live Fire Drill for 30 Minutes Before Officials Alerted

Airservices Australia revealed 49 planes were forced to re-route after Chinese naval ships began a live fire exercise in the Tasman Sea.

Chinese People's Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate, Hengyang, sailing within Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone, provided on Feb. 11, 2025. Courtesy of the Australian Department of Defence

Planes were flying near the Chinese Communist Party’s live firing exercise in the Tasman Sea for around half an hour before pilots were alerted about the potential danger, it has been revealed.

Airservices Australia—the government agency responsible for managing air traffic in 11 percent of the world’s airspace—only found out about a live fire exercise by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy flotilla in the Tasman Sea after being notified by a Virgin Airlines pilot.

The Chinese announcement had been broadcast on an emergency channel shortly before the exercise started, and was heard by the pilot.

Airservices Australia appeared before a Senate Estimates hearing on Feb. 24 when the opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie asked about Beijing’s movements through Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) last week.

The small flotilla of naval vessels held surprise live fire exercises twice while traversing the Tasman Sea on Feb. 21 and 22. The first exercise forced several passenger jets to divert to avoid coming within the blast zone of the Chinese vessels.

Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp revealed that it only found out at 9.58 a.m. on Feb. 21 about the action when a Virgin Australia pilot alerted air traffic that “a foreign warship was broadcasting that they were conducting live firing 300 nautical miles east of our coast.

“That was how we first found out about the issue,” Sharp said.

49 Planes Forced to Divert

Deputy CEO Peter Curran explained the message was broadcast in English on an international guard frequency—an emergency channel monitored by pilots but not by air traffic control.

It took around two minutes for air traffic controllers to broadcast a hazard alert to commercial aircraft flying across the Tasman, using the same frequency. According to Curran, they were initially unsure whether or not they were dealing with a hoax.

That alert instructed pilots to avoid an area 18 kilometres across and 45,000 feet (13,716 metres) high, forcing 49 planes, some of which were already airborne, to divert from their planned flightpaths.

“It is a relatively busy time of the day. There are a number of flight paths that go from Sydney across to various places in New Zealand and from Brisbane, they converge to the south-east there,” Curran said.

The Australian Defence Force Joint Operations Command Headquarters was notified about 10 minutes after the initial contact from Virgin (so, 10.08 a.m.).

At 10.18 a.m., an Emirates flight spoke to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) warships and was told the live firing exercise was being conducted between 9.30 a.m. and 2.00 p.m.—meaning it had been taking place for almost half an hour before Airservices Australia received the first warning.

Transport Minister Catherine King’s office was informed at 11.20 a.m., and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority at 11.28 a.m.

A teleconference was then held with airline representatives around midday.

24 to 48 Hours Notice Is Normal

Normal protocol for live firing drills is to notify air traffic controllers 24 to 48 hours beforehand, Curran said, as the French do when operating near their Pacific territories.

A Defence Department spokesperson said the Chinese fleet did not meet these standards, but noted what they did was still legally sound.

“The process undertaken by the PLAN to inform of the live fire activity was conducted in accordance with applicable international law conventions,” a spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“However, to minimise disruption to aircraft and vessels, best practice is the establishment of Notice to Airmen or Notice to Mariners [a formal notice to a local authority about potential hazards], which the Australian Defence Force would typically release 24 to 48 hours prior to a live firing activity on the high seas.

Prime Minister Sidelines Talk of Punishment

The revelations by Air Services Australia somewhat contradict Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s assertion that a “warning was given” of the exercise.

Speaking to reporters on Feb. 22, he reiterated that “Defence have confirmed that China did comply with international law and that’s important to not suggest that that wasn’t the case” and that “there has been no danger to Australian assets.”

Asked by a reporter whether Australia should be considering a “punishment” such as trade sanctions, the prime minister responded, “You do know that most of the trade goes from here to there, not the other way around? One in four Australian jobs are dependent upon trade and China is our major trading partner.”

“And I’ve worked pretty hard to make sure that products, including seafood products, can get into China.”

However, he said “appropriate representations” had been made to Beijing, including Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaking to her CCP counterpart face-to-face at the G20 Foreign Minister’s Meeting in South Africa.