Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that China has not provided a "satisfactory" explanation regarding reports of its warships conducting live-fire exercises in airspace off the Australian coast, according to local media. Speaking to reporters, Marles said Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised the issue with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers summit in South Africa, as reported by 9 News. "I don't think we have a satisfactory answer from China as to the question of the notice," Marles stated. "We would have preferred that there was much more notice provided so that we didn't have the disconcerting set of circumstances yesterday." The comments come after commercial flights between Australia and New Zealand were put on notice Friday over concerns about potential live-fire exercises by two Chinese warships operating in international waters southeast of Sydney. The alert prompted several international flights to adjust their routes as a precaution. "What we had yesterday was the notification of a live firing event. It's not clear whether that actually occurred in terms of the live firing itself," Marles added. Despite the short notice, he acknowledged that China had not violated international law. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reassured the public after speaking with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Friday, stating that there was no risk to any Australian or New Zealand assets. Albanese confirmed that Chinese vessels had issued an alert about potential exercises, though it remained unclear whether live firing actually took place. Tensions between Australia and China have escalated in recent weeks. Last week, Canberra accused a Chinese fighter jet of engaging in an "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction with an Australian military aircraft above the disputed South China Sea. The Australian Defense Ministry claimed that a People's Liberation Army J-16 fighter aircraft released flares near an Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane conducting a routine surveillance mission. China's Defense Ministry dismissed Australia's claims as "false narratives" and accused Canberra of deliberately infringing on China's rights and interests in the South China Sea. — Agencies
