New Zealand used high-level talks in Beijing to raise concerns about the surprise deployment of Chinese warships off its western coast, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday. Dozens of commercial flights were forced to divert last week when the vessels announced live firing drills underneath a busy flight path halfway between Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand’s foreign minister is meeting senior officials in China just days after New Zealand and Australia said that Chinese warships should have given more warning before live-fire exercises in waters between their countries.

New Zealand's foreign minister said he had raised concerns over China's recent live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea during meetings with Chinese leaders on Wednesday. The issue was a lack of notice given to New Zealand over the military exercises off its coast,