China Condemns New Zealand Patrol Plane Reconnaissance

China has responded in a resolute manner to close-in reconnaissance and harassment by a New Zealand Air Force anti-submarine patrol aircraft over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks during a regular press briefing, stating that China had lodged stern representation with New Zealand over the incident.

Guo noted that the actions by New Zealand have undermined China’s security interests, increased the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and disrupted the order of civil aviation operations in the relevant airspace.

China urges New Zealand to earnestly abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns, and work to uphold the safety and order of civil aviation.

The spokesperson also mentioned that quite a few civil aviation flights were disrupted due to the repeated flights of the New Zealand military aircraft near China’s airspace.

Guo Jiakun specified that a P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the New Zealand air force conducted repeated close-in reconnaissance and harassment in the airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.