• Defence Minister Judith Collins revealed the new location of the Chinese warships, which are520km east of Tasmania.
• Collins disputed claims the NZ Navy would cease operations in the South China Sea.
• She criticised China for not informing about live-fire drills affecting Tasman Sea flights.

Defence Minister Judith Collins has revealed the new location of the Chinese warships off the Australian coast and says the Government does not know if they intend to come closer to New Zealand.

It comes as Collins disputed claims the New Zealand Navy would cease operations in the South China Sea amid fears it might be seen as retaliatory.

Last week the Chinese military came under scrutiny for not warning Australia or New Zealand of drills being performed in the Tasman Sea that included live firing beneath known flight paths.

Collins told RNZ the ships were about 520km east of Tasmania and had slightly changed their formation. They were previously off the coast of Sydney.

She said the Government didn’t know if they intended to come closer to New Zealand.

Collins said she didn’t think New Zealand had seen a live military exercise in the Tasman Sea that had affected flights.

Collins told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that any comparisons to New Zealand and Australia using the Taiwan Strait in the South China Sea were not accurate because they were carrying out an “entirely different activity”.

She said they would continue to do that because its purpose was to monitor UN sanctions on North Korea. Collins said it would not be seen as “provocative”.

The Chinese Navy warships are reportedly conducting live-fire drills. Photo / Australian Department of Defence

“We will continue to not live-fire in that area and make everyone aware of what we are doing there.”

She said she had not been speaking to Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong because Wong was Winston Peters' counterpart, but she had had talks with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles.

Collins said Marles had told her they were “very much like us” and were not “particularly worried”.

She disputed claims the United States would be looking at this with a “level of concern” and said the rest of the world would be viewing this as a “new development”.

“Nobody wants to overreact, no one wants to get too excitable, everybody wants to stay very calm and understand that while China is complying with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is always quite good to give people notice.”

Defence Minister Judith Collins has criticised the Chinese military over the unannounced Navy activity. Photo / Mark Mitchell

She said she wouldn’t say the Government was not “worried”, but it was “very aware”.

On Friday, Collins vented frustration at the Chinese government for not informing New Zealand it would be sending a “highly capable” strike force with “enormous strike power” down the east coast of Australia.

Collins said the Chinese government and Chinese Embassy had given New Zealand no notice it would be sending the strike force into the region.

“They have not deigned to advise us on what they are doing in the middle of the Tasman Sea,” she said.

AFP reported that Canberra said on Saturday it had not yet received a satisfactory explanation from Beijing for Friday’s drill, which had the Chinese ships broadcast a live-fire warning that caused commercial planes to change course.

China’s Defence Ministry hit back on Sunday, saying the “relevant remarks of the Australian side are completely inconsistent with facts”, while confirming the use of live ammunition.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.