An unsuspecting pilot on a Virgin Australia flight got the surprise of their life when receiving an emergency radio notification from the PLA-N Task Group 107, a flotilla of Chinese military ships, conducting live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea. The live fire drill was to take place around 346 nautical miles (641 km) off the East Coast of Australia.
According to the report circulated by 9News Australia, local air traffic control noted that no notice for the drills was provided. The Chinese military had not declared to what altitude they would be firing, but the Virgin aircraft was outside the ten-mile ‘danger zone’.
What If We Go Missing?
During the conversation between the pilot and Australian air traffic control, the pilot explained how they had received a warning from the Chinese task force, and questioned if anyone else was aware of it. During this moment, there was a period of light-hearted comedy between the two, as the pilot jokingly said, “If we go missing, you’ll know what happened, hey?”, to which the controller responded, “Good luck”.
While the Virgin flight was unaware of the exercises, an Emirates flight was subsequently advised by air traffic control, as the flight was practically flying directly over the firing position. According to the Emirates pilot, the flight had learned that these ships could fire up to an altitude of 9 miles (15 km). This was one of many aircraft that were subsequently diverted due to the military drills. A total of 49 flights, the majority traveling between Australia and New Zealand, had to change path or be diverted.
No Need To Advise Neighboring Countries Of The Chinese Activity
The Chinese had no obligation to advise either Australia or New Zealand of their activity, due to the drills being conducted more than 200 miles (321 km) off the coastline. This led to the Chinese Military not needing to notify either country of their planned training exercise.
However, following the incident and the repercussions that took place with the diversion of flights, the Australian Federal Government has sought reassurance from Beijing that, in the future, they will receive advance notice for future exercises. This even led to the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, directly raising the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a recent state visit to China this July.
Back in February, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon explained that China had not informed the New Zealand Government of their activity before live-fire training; however, he reassured the public that the Royal New Zealand Navy had deployed the HMNZS Te Kaha to monitor the unfolding situation, with support from the Royal New Zealand Air Force and its P-8A Poseidon.
Credits: Australia Airline
