SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) – China defence ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Sunday that Australian complaints over recent Chinese live-fire naval drills in international waters between Australia and New Zealand were “hyped up” and “inconsistent with the facts”.
Australia Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that Beijing had failed to give satisfactory reasons for what he called inadequate notice for live-fire drills a day earlier, which he said had forced airlines to divert flights.
Qian said in a post from the Chinese defence ministry that China had issued repeated safety notices in advance, and that its actions complied with international law and did not affect aviation flight safety.
“Australia, fully knowing this, made unreasonable accusations against China and deliberately hyped it up,” Qian’s post said. “We are deeply surprised and strongly dissatisfied.”
New Zealand said on Saturday it had also observed the Chinese navy conducting a second day of live-fire exercises and that it was monitoring a fleet of Chinese vessels.
(Reporting by David Kirton; Editing by Tom Hogue)
