Wellington, Feb 24 New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins on Monday alerted Australia that the Chinese vessels near its region are carrying weapons that could make their way to Australia.
Collins warned that the Chinese naval task group conducting military exercises in the Tasman Sea is "extremely capable", and one of the warships carrying ballistic missiles with a range of about 1,000 kilometres.
These remarks came after China's Ministry of Defence criticised Australia and New Zealand for deliberately "hyping up" the situation after three flights were diverted because of Beijing's live-fire drills.
Collins said that the Chinese warships possessed substantial weaponry, which is a stark reminder for New Zealand to urgently bolster its defence budget amidst rising strategic tensions in the region, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Collins also denounced the Chinese criticism, reiterating that China gave inadequate notice period as opposed to what is considered the best practice, which is 12 to 24 hours before the flotilla -- which consists of the naval frigate Hengyang, cruiser Zunyi and replenishment vessel Weishanhu -- commenced live firing exercises.
She further said China has not communicated on the activity of the Chinese warships this week and whether they might be in the vicinity of New Zealand.
"They're not telling us what they're planning, but I can tell you that the ships are currently around 280 nautical miles east of Tasmania. So the ships have slightly changed their formation, but of course, we are monitoring it and Te Kaha (ship) has been out there, basically monitoring and doing what you'd expect us to be doing."
She linked the Chinese activity in their region to a recent agreement inked between China and the Cook Islands to increase China's strategic presence in the Pacific.
She termed it an "unusual" deal with the Cook Islands to get access to its seabed minerals.
Further launching a scathing attack on China, Collins said that such activities were never carried out by New Zealand in the Taiwan Strait.
She said that New Zealand also sent ships through the disputed Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China but never carried out live-fire exercises, reports local media outlet Radio New Zealand.
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