Why China’s controversial navy drills have triggered a row with Australia and New Zealand

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Australia's foreign minister voiced concern on 21 February 2025 over live fire drills conducted by three Chinese warships sailing off the country's east coast Airservices Australia’s chief executive officer, Rob Sharp, explained during a parliamentary hearing on Monday that a Virgin Australia pilot was the first to alert the authorities. However, the Chinese warning was delivered on “a couple of hours’ notice”, a timeframe deemed by New Zealand’s defence minister, Judith Collins, as far too short to allow for proper diversion planning. While New Zealand deputy prime minister Winston Peters is scheduled to visit China on 25 February, Ms Collins revealed that officials are “seeking assurance from the Chinese embassy” regarding future activities, given the unusually short notice and the shifting nature of the formations observed during the drills. As research fellow Collin Koh at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore told CNN: “Its presence so far south in the Tasman Sea – and as part of a full-fledged combat flotilla – is really considered unusual and rather unprecedented.” Analysts have observed that these drills may be intended to assert China’s growing operational confidence and to signal to regional and global powers that the PLA Navy is evolving rapidly.