New Zealand says China has agreed to consider concerns about its recent military drills

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2025 (227 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEIJING (AP) — China has agreed to consider concerns that its military did not give enough notice before staging live-fire exercises in the waters between New Zealand and Australia last week, the foreign minister of New Zealand said Wednesday.

The drills prompted passenger flights between the two countries to divert in midflight after Chinese naval vessels warned pilots they were flying above a live-fire exercise.

“I think it would be true to say that he took our concerns on board,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said after meeting and having dinner with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in the Chinese capital.

Peters said he put the issue in the context of the close ties that the two countries have developed since 2008. China is the biggest export destination for New Zealand and Australia.

“We’re in the second decade of this arrangement, and this is a failure in it at this time, and we’d like to have it corrected in the future,” he said. He added, “That is something which we believe is under consideration.”

Australia has complained more vociferously about the lack of notification. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she sought an explanation from China’s Wang Yi when the two met in Johannesburg last Saturday following a gathering of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 nations.

At issue is how much in advance militaries should issue such warnings. China only gave “a couple of hours’ notice,” New Zealand’s Defense Minister Judith Collins told Radio New Zealand, rather than the expected 12 to 24 hours. A longer lead time would give airlines time to plan alternate routes.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency made no mention of the issue in an initial report on Peters’ meeting earlier in the day with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson defended China’s actions on Sunday, saying the drills were in compliance with international law and did not affect aviation safety.

Peters, who also is the deputy prime minister, is in the middle of an 11-day trip that began with stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. After Beijing, he is visiting Mongolia and South Korea before his return to New Zealand on Monday.

In his talks in Beijing, Peters said the return of President Donald Trump to the White House came up more than he had expected.

He didn’t provide any details, but said that both sides agreed that “perhaps we should just wait and see what happens when the dust settles.”

Peters said he also explained the unique relationship his country has with Cook Islands, which signed a series of agreements with China earlier this month that have raised concern in New Zealand.

The government was angered when Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown refused to share the text of a draft cooperation agreement with China ahead of its signing.

Citizens of Cook Islands have New Zealand passports, and New Zealand helps the small Pacific nation with its military and foreign affairs. In return, the Cook Islands government is required to consult New Zealand on matters that could affect the latter.

“They need to understand the constitutional arrangement, which they said they did now,” Peters said of China.