In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, right, meets with visiting New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters in Beijing, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Yao Dawei/Xinhua via AP)
Republished February 26, 2025 - 7:06 AM
Original Publication Date February 26, 2025 - 3:06 AM
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 in Beijing on 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.
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 Wang 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.
Ahead of his trip, Peters described China as “one of New Zealand’s most significant and complex relationships.”
The New Zealand government was angered earlier this month when Cook Islands refused to share the text of a draft agreement with China to boost cooperation.
Cook Islands, a small South Pacific nation, has a special relationship with New Zealand, which helps with its military and foreign affairs. In return, it is required to consult New Zealand on any matters that could affect the latter.
The government released details of the agreement, which includes more funding from China for infrastructure projects and educational scholarships, only after it was signed in Beijing.
News from © The Associated Press, 2025