China’s Defense Ministry says that Australia made “unreasonable accusations” and deliberately hyped the situation after three planes headed to New Zealand changed course in midflight because of live-fire drills by the Chinese navy.

Airlines have been contacted by Australia’s air traffic control agency warning them of reports of live fire off the country’s east coast where a Chinese navy task group has been operating, the agency and Australian officials said.

Commercial airliners flying over the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand were forced to reroute their flights on Friday morning Australian time because of a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) action group warning that it would conduct live-fire drills.

Australia's defense forces, joined by New Zealand, have been monitoring Chinese navy vessels since they were spotted last week.

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".

The Chinese naval exercises, in international waters off Australia’s eastern coast, while legal, have nonetheless sparked alarm in Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand said the Chinese navy conducted a live-fire exercise in international waters near the Pacific nation on Saturday, a day after it held a similar drill between Australia and New Zealand that forced airlines to divert flights.

Military exercises by the Chinese navy in international waters southeast of Australia on Friday forced commercial flights transiting the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand to divert.

Australia accused China on Saturday of failing to give satisfactory reasons for what it called inadequate notice of a live-fire drill in waters between Australia and New Zealand that forced airlines to divert flights.