NZ-bound flights diverted due to Chinese military drills

Friday, 21 February 2025

Australia warned airlines flying between Australian and New Zealand airports about possible Chinese naval exercises in the Tasman Sea, including live-fire drills.

Flights between Australia and New Zealand have been diverted due to live fire exercises from the Chinese military.

One Sydney to Christchurch flight was warned directly, while others have had to divert due to the military drills.

Air New Zealand says it has modified its flight paths to avoid the area where the drills are taking place.

A flight from Sydney to Christchurch was warned to avoid airspace between Australia and New Zealand on Friday morning due to the Chinese military conducting live fire exercises.

The Emirates flight was warned directly by air traffic controllers at around 1pm (NZ time), while other airlines have had to divert flights as a result of the drills.

The Chinese military were said to have been conducting their drills 547km south-east of Sydney.

In this photo provided by the Australian Defense Force, the Chinese Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang travels in the Torres Strait off Australia's coast, on February 11.

Air New Zealand told RNZ it 'has modified flight paths as needed to avoid the area, with no impact on our operations'.

Warnings continue to remain in place, with the Australian Defence Force saying the drills have caused significant disruption due to the limited notice period and impact on commercial flights.

The ADF continues to monitor the drills and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the ABC she will discuss the exercises with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi at the foreign ministers’ G20 meeting in Johannesburg.

“We already have [discussed this] at official level in relation to the notice given and the transparency provided in relation to these exercises, particularly the live fire exercises,” she said.

New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins isn’t saying how close she thinks three Chinese warships sailing off southeast New South Wales will get to this country, but she has indicated she has information that is not publicly available.

A New Zealand P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft.

Australia’s defence department has said the ships, sailing about 150km off its coast, were the frigate Hengyang, cruiser Zunyi, and replenishment ship Weishanhu.

Collins said the Zunyi was a “formidable” ship, and the presence of the vessels was a “wake-up call”.

“New Zealanders have been told for years by the political classes that they can just rest easy, do nothing on defence, and expect that our distance from much of the world will protect us,” she said.

The Navy frigate Te Kaha is involved in monitoring the Chinese ships. (file pic)

But the proximity of the navy ships, along with a Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile test last year, was “not something we have seen before”, she told Stuff.

The vessels were being monitored by Air Force P-8A Poseidons, which were “highly intelligent aircraft”. The frigate Te Kaha was also out there.

Judith Collins says the presence of the Chinese vessels was a “wake-up call”.

“It’s amazing what you can monitor from these assets, not just looking at them,” Collins said.

Asked on Friday morning if she thought the ships would come into New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, and come towards Auckland or Wellington, Collins said: “Bear in mind there are things I’ve been advised, but I’m not able to pass on.”

The Zunyi was understood to be a Type 055 destroyer, with a Nato designation as a Renhai class cruiser. Ships of that class were 180m long, and Zunyi was commissioned in November, 2022.

“They are actually entitled under the UN convention to go through international waters, so there’s nothing that we can do other than to monitor them,” Collins said.

“This is simply, I think, the Chinese PLA (People’s Liberation Army) showing us that they can do this, and they’re showing the Australians as well.”

Asked if it was a display of force, Collins said: “You could describe it as that, but it’s certainly an unusual move.”

“We also, with Australia, we operate through the Taiwan Strait, we operate in the South China Sea. China is simply showing that they can do the same.”