Reuters: New Zealand on Saturday defended a military patrol flight near China after Beijing said it undermined its security interests. China’s foreign ministry said a New Zealand P-8A patrol aircraft conducted “continuous close-in reconnaissance and harassment” in the airspace and waters of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the action undermined China’s security interests, increased risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and disrupted civil aviation.
Responding, the New Zealand Defense Force said a Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft was monitoring North Korean sanctions evasions at sea under United Nations Security Council resolutions. It added the crew operated professionally and in accordance with international law, calling it a longstanding deployment enforcing UN-mandated sanctions on North Korea.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since Chinese navy vessels conducted live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea last year.
