Many motorists have seen it towering over State Highway 1 in Auckland’s Manukau – but few so far have seen its interior.
The massive new temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is set to open soon, and, for a short period of time, it has invited members of the public to take a look inside.
The recommend desk inside the temple. (Source: Supplied)
It is the second temple of its kind in New Zealand. The first was built in Hamilton in 1958, and resource consent for a proposed 37-metre tall temple in Porirua has been granted.
Elder Peter Meurs told Breakfast it will be a “unique opportunity” to view the inside of the temple.
In the bapistry inside the temple. (Source: Supplied)
“We hope many will come. This temple has been built carefully and to the highest possible standards. It is simply beautiful, but we promise when you come, the spirit you will feel in the temple is really special.”
Meurs said when people attend a tour of the temple, they will see where sacred ceremonies are performed, places where families connect, beautiful artwork, and many things related to New Zealand
Elder Peter Meurs told Breakfast it will be a “unique opportunity” for members of the public to view the inside of the temple. (Source: Breakfast)
While the Church has about 30,000 regular church buildings around the world, Meurs said this is only the 203rd temple of its kind, which is reserved for special occasions.
“This is a very special place. We don’t come here on Sunday, we worship in our normal buildings on Sunday and we have activities during the week. This temple is reserved to come closer to God and as a place to feel his presence.”
A sealing room in the temple. (Source: Supplied)
The Church is inviting everyone to come and learn about the temple. It is open to the public between February 27 and March 22. Once the temple is dedicated, it will only be open to members of the Church.
Those who wish to attend are able to make a booking through the Church’s website.
The celestial room inside the temple. (Source: Supplied)The top of the grand staircase inside the temple. (Source: Supplied)
An RSE worker had been deported to Tonga after missing work due to spending time with a prostitute.
Police had been called to check on the employee after his employers discovered he had not been at work for three days.
“The situation unfolded after allegations surfaced that the individual had “tricked” the worker, leading to legal repercussions and eventual removal from the country”, a report by Stuff said.
It said the Tongan RSE worker was “lured” off his farm in the middle of the night by a sex worker who “tricked” him into believing they were in love and should be together.
Police confirmed in a statement that officers went with immigration staff to a property in Motueka on January 22 and arrested a man.
He was held in police custody until being flown to Auckland two days later and escorted to his flight home.
“Police routinely escort deportees across the country as a precaution and to ensure they arrive at their designated flights,” a spokesperson was reported by Stuff as saying.
Fadia Mudafar, national manager of immigration compliance with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), said there were no restrictions on what RSE workers did in their leisure time, as long as they complied with their visa conditions.
In the case of the Tongan national in Motueka, the man had breached his visa by “absconding from his place of employment”.
It is understood that sex workers frequently approached RSE workers in a situation that appeared to have been organised by certain gang members.
“The workers would often fall in love with the women, who would keep fleecing them for money and threaten to tell authorities or their families if they didn’t pay”, the sources said, according to Stuff.
“The workers would often fall in love with the women, who would keep fleecing them for money and threaten to tell authorities or their families if they didn’t pay, the sources said.
Sometimes the women would claim they’d fallen pregnant to extract more cash”.
Prostitution is allowed in New Zealand, and Police reportedly said after the arrival of RSE workers in the country, they are provided with safety guidelines.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said overnight he would be ready to give up the presidency if doing so would achieve a lasting peace for his country under the security umbrella of the NATO military alliance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky answers media questions during his press conference, in Kyiv, Ukraine.q (Source: Associated Press)
Speaking at a forum of government officials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky said, “If to achieve peace, you really need me to give up my post, I’m ready.”
Responding to a journalist’s question on whether he’d trade his office for peace, Zelensky said, “I can trade it for NATO.”
His comment appeared to be aimed at recent suggestions by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that elections should be held in Ukraine despite Ukrainian legislation prohibiting them during martial law.
Earlier, Zelensky said Russia launched 267 strike drones into Ukraine overnight on Saturday, more than in any other single attack of the war.
Ukraine’s air force said 138 drones had been shot down over 13 Ukrainian regions, with 119 more lost en route to their targets.
Three ballistic missiles had also been fired, the air force said. One person was killed in the city of Kryvyi Rih, according to the city military administration.
The attack came as leaders in Kyiv and across Europe are seeking to navigate rapid changes in US foreign policy under President Donald Trump, who in a matter of days has upended years of firm support for Ukraine, leading to fears that he would join with Moscow to force a settlement to the war without involving Ukraine and its European backers.
Ukraine fears Trump’s policy shift toward Putin
Trump’s engagement with Russian officials and his agreement to reopen diplomatic ties and economic cooperation with Moscow marked a dramatic about-face in US policy.
Zelensky has expressed fears that Trump pushing a quick resolution would result in lost territory for Ukraine and vulnerability to future Russian aggression, though US officials have asserted that the Ukrainian leader would be involved if and when peace talks actually start.
Trump, however, prompted alarm and anger in Ukraine when this week he suggested that Kyiv had started the war, and that Zelensky was acting as a “dictator” by not holding elections, despite Ukrainian legislation prohibiting them during martial law.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister on Saturday said preparations were underway for a Trump-Putin meeting, a further sign that the Russian leader’s isolation, at least for the Trump administration, was beginning to thaw.
In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier passes by in partially occupied Toretsk, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Source: Associated Press)
Reacting to the latest Russian attacks, however, Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the overnight attack “demonstrates that avoiding calling Russia an aggressor does not change the fact that it is one.”
“No one should trust Putin’s words. Look at his actions instead,” Sybiha said in a statement on social media.
Ukraine continuing dialogue with US over mineral deal
Ukrainian officials on Sunday discussed a deal that would allow the US to access Ukrainian rare earth minerals, a proposal Trump’s administration is pushing for but that Zelensky earlier declined to accept because it lacked specific security guarantees.
At the forum in Kyiv where Zelensky made the offer to give up his presidency in return for peace and NATO membership, his chief of staff Andrii Yermak said the government was considering investment opportunities both with the US and European countries “which includes minerals, their development and extraction”.
Yermak left the forum early along with Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko for what he said were talks with US representatives on a potential deal. He said Ukraine’s mineral resources represent “a very important element that can work in the general structure of security guarantees — military guarantees and others.”
Yermak pushed back on the notion that Ukraine had rejected US proposals but said any agreement “must meet the national interests of Ukraine, and undoubtedly, must be interesting to our partners”.
Before leaving the forum, Svyrydenko said there are US$350 billion worth of minerals on Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia. This calculation, however, is partly based on geological maps dating back to 1940s and 1960s, she said, adding: “We have to conduct geological exploration and confirm the deposits we have on paper.”
Meanwhile, Putin in a special televised message Sunday praised Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine for defending “their native land, the national interests and the future of Russia”.
Putin used his speech, on Russia’s Defender of the Fatherland Day, to pledge greater social support for military personnel and new weapons and equipment for Russian forces.
“Today, as the world is changing impetuously, our strategic course for strengthening and developing the Armed Forces remains unchanged,” he said, adding that Russia would continue to develop its armed forces “as the essential part of Russia’s security that guarantees its sovereign present and future.”
Tropical Cyclone Rae is expected to gradually intensify into a Tropical Cyclone Category 3 in the next 24 hours, Tonga MetService said.
Rae, currently a Tropical Cyclone Category 2, was located southwest of ‘Esia, Niuafo’ou, and west of Hihifo, Niuatoputapu, the MetService reported at 7am Monday, Tonga time.
It sustains winds of 50-55 knots (100-110km/hr) near the centre and gusts up to 70-75 knots (140-150 km/hr).
The MetService issued warnings for different areas of Tonga, including associated clouds with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and strong to gale-force winds.
A gale warning remains in force for Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou land areas.
A strong wind warning remains in force for Vava’u, Ha’apai, Tongatapu and ‘Eua land areas.
A gale warning, heavy damaging swell and small craft advisory remain in force for Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou coastal waters.
A gale warning and small craft advisory remain in force for Vava’u and Ha’apai coastal waters.
A strong wind warning and small craft advisory remain in force for Tongatapu, ‘Eua, Tele-ki-Tonga and Tele-ki-Tokelau coastal waters.
A tropical cyclone warning has been issued for Tonga’s Ha’apai, Niua and Vava’u groups.
The groups, including Tongatapu and ‘Eua, are advised to prepare for potentially severe weather conditions, including strong winds, heavy rainfall, and possible flooding.
MetService said in its tropical cyclone advisory number 05 for Tonga said that tropical depression 09f is expected to gradually intensify into a tropical cyclone category 1 in the next 6-12 hours.
Associated clouds, heavy rain, thunderstorms, and strong to gale-force winds will affect the Niuas today. Strong winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms will extend onto the Vava’u and Ha’apai group this afternoon and then Tongatapu and Eua by tomorrow morning.
The warning from the Fua’amotu Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre at 1pm Sunday 23 February 2025 said that a gale warning remains in force for Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou land areas.
It said a strong wind warning remain in force for Vava’u, Ha’apai, Tongatapu and ‘Eua land areas.
A gale warning, heavy damaging swell and small craft advisory remain in force for Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou coastal waters.
The strong wind warning previously enforced for Vava’u and Ha’apai coastal waters are now upgraded to a gale warning.
A strong wind warning and small craft advisory remain in force for Tongatapu, ‘Eua, tele-ki-Tonga and Tele-ki-Tokelau coastal waters.
It said tropical depression 09f was located near southwest and northwest of ‘Esia, Niuafo’ou, or west-northwest of Hihifo, Niuatoputapu, or northwest of Neiafu, Vava’u, or Northwest of Pangai, Haapai, or north-northwest of Nukualofa, Tongatapu, north-northwest of ‘Ohonua, ‘Eua at 1pm this afternoon.
The system is currently moving south at the speed of six knots.
MetService said it is crucial to stay informed through local news updates and follow any emergency guidelines provided by the government.
Communities are urged to secure property, stock up on essential supplies, and ensure that evacuation plans are in place if necessary. Safety should be the top priority as the situation develops.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested and charged in relation to a stabbing in Auckland’s North Shore suburb of Birkenhead almost three weeks ago.
Armed police block off Birkenhead Ave on Auckland’s North Shore. (Source: Supplied)
Detective Sergeant Matt Bartlett said man was arrested during a search warrant at a Northcote address on Saturday morning and was due to appear in the North Shore District Court on Monday, charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Police said they would be opposing bail.
A man was found with serious injuries on Birkenhead Ave by a member of the public at around 2pm on February 4.
A witness told 1News that they saw a badly injured man lying on the side of the road on his back at around 2pm
“An elderly lady stopped to help him, then a cop car pulled up.”
They said the situation was “scary” and that they had “never seen anything like it”.
“I hope somebody saw it happen or has seen something.”
The victim, who was taken to hospital in a critical condition, was reported to be recovering from his wounds.
North Shore area commander inspector Stefan Sagar earlier said that police did not believe it was a “random incident”.
The brazen stabbing in a busy street shortly before nearby primary and secondary schools let students out for the day — as well as an unrelated armed hold-up of a cash delivery vehicle exactly one week later just metres along the same road — shook the usually quiet village suburb.
Police stepped up patrols in the area to reassure the community and MP Dan Bidois called a public meeting to address concerns about safety and crime.
Following the arrest this morning, Detective Sergeant Bartlett thanked members of the public “for their assistance and information provided that assisted our investigation”.
He also noted police teams worked tirelessly on the case, as part of an ongoing dedication to holding offenders to account.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has this afternoon witnessed live rounds being fired from a Chinese warship in the Tasman Sea.
The People’s Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang travels in the Torres Strait off Australia’s coast, on February 11. (Source: Associated Press)
Flights had to be diverted yesterday after commercial pilots were warned to avoid airspace between New Zealand and Australia after three Chinese vessels carried out drills in international waters around 340 nautical miles south-east of Sydney.
“We are aware of reporting from the New Zealand Defence Force that the Chinese naval Task Group has advised of a second window for live firing activity, on Saturday afternoon New Zealand time,” the office of Defence Minister Judith Collins confirmed today in a statement.
“We have had confirmation that personnel on Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha observed live rounds being fired from the Zunyi’s main gun, as would be expected during the course of such an exercise.
“As happened yesterday, the Chinese Task Group advised via radio channels of its intent to conduct live firing.”
The NZDF is working alongside the NZ Civil Aviation Authority “to ensure all aircraft are notified”.
“The safety of all people, aircraft and vessels in the area remains our paramount concern.
“Our concerns regarding notification times and best practise when undertaking military exercises stand and will be communicated appropriately.”
‘We haven’t been given a reason’ – Luxon
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon earlier today confirmed to reporters that the Chinese government did not inform New Zealand about its movements.
“We haven’t been given a reason as to why they’re here in this configuration with this set of ships, with these different set of capabilities, and we don’t really have a sense of, you know — we haven’t been told where they’re going and why,” he said.
“They are in international waters, they are completely within the balance of international law and the UN Convention on the law on the sea, which is important. It is important that all countries have freedom of navigation. It works for us when we are out and about in the world as well.”
Luxon said the NZDF is “continuously monitoring, tracking and shadowing the movements of this fleet in conjunction with our Australian friends and partners and we will continue to do so”.
A Hawaii man who spent 30 years in prison for a murder he long denied committing declared the day “Freedom Friday” and said he was eager to visit his mother after a judge ordered him released because of new DNA evidence.
Gordon Cordeiro in court on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, in Wailuku, Hawaii. (Source: Hawaii News Now via AP)
There were gasps and cries in the courtroom when Judge Kirstin Hamman said, “And the judgement and sentence is vacated and the defendant is ordered to be released from custody”, before a Zoom feed broadcasting the hearing suddenly turned off.
She ruled that new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely change the outcome of another trial against Gordon Cordeiro.
The case involves the 1994 killing of Timothy Blaisdell during a drug deal robbery on the island of Maui.
Cordeiro’s first trial ended in a hung jury, with only one juror voting to convict him. But he was later found guilty of murder, robbery and attempted murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
The Hawaii Innocence Project took up his case, and during a hearing this week it argued that Cordeiro must be released on the grounds of new evidence proving his innocence, ineffectiveness of his previous attorney and prosecutorial misconduct.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said he was disappointed in the ruling and “none of the judge’s findings exonerate him in any way”.
His office intends to appeal and file a motion seeking to impose bail on Cordeiro’s release, Martin added, saying there is a flight risk because a murder charge is involved.
Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, said it was a very emotional moment.
“He cried, we all cried,” Lawson said. “He believed that he was going to be exonerated … but having gone through two trials, you lose faith in the justice system. To finally hear a judge say, ‘I’m vacating your convictions’, that’s when it hit him.”
Following his release Cordeiro, now 51, stood outside the Maui Community Correctional Centre and talked to reporters, calling it “Freedom Friday”. The Associated Press listened by phone from Honolulu.
He said he felt thankful. He thanked his supporters, the judge and even prosecutors who stipulated to certain facts in the case.
“I’d like to go see my mom,” Cordeiro said. “Would be nice.”
Asked about adjusting to life as a free man after 30 years behind bars, he said, “I got good support.”
According to court documents filed by Cordeiro’s attorneys, he was wrongfully convicted in part because police relied upon four jailhouse informants motivated by promises of reduced sentences and fabricated murder-for-hire plots.
“Unfortunately for Cordeiro, the State’s use of incentivized jailhouse informants and their fabricated evidence and testimony about the murder-for-hire plots, was enough to convince a jury of his guilt in his second trial,” the Hawaii Innocence Project said in a court filing.
Cordeiro had several alibis for the day Blaisdell was killed, his attorneys said: The then-22-year-old was at home with his parents and sisters, spending the day building a shelving unit in his family’s open-air garage and installing a stereo in his sister’s car — nowhere near the so-called Skid Row area in upcountry Maui where the killing happened.
Blaisdell had gone to Skid Row with a man named Michael Freitas and planned to buy a pound of marijuana with US$800 (NZ$1393) in cash, according to court documents. His body was found at the bottom of a ravine.
Freitas kept changing his story, Cordeiro’s attorneys said, and he shifted the blame onto their client, a friend who he falsely believed had “snitched” on him in an unrelated drug case.
After Cordeiro’s conviction, new testing on physical evidence from the scene excluded him as the source of DNA on Blaisdell’s body and other crime scene evidence, the Hawaii Innocence Project said, and a DNA profile of an unidentified person was found on the inside pockets of Blaisdell’s jeans.
The judge agreed that the new DNA evidence and new information about gunshot residue would change the results of a later trial.
Cordeiro’s attorneys believe Freitas, who died in 2020, set Blaisdell up to be robbed and was involved in his killing.
“The police botched this case from the beginning and turned the No. 1 suspect into the state’s star witness, resulting in a 30-plus-year nightmare and miscarriage of justice for Gordon and his family,” Lawson said.
A day after China warned its three military ships would be live weapons testing between New Zealand and Australia, the Cook Islands has today released a controversial agreement indicating Beijing has secured a maritime presence there.
An agreement between Cook Islands and China is signed, in a video snapshot supplied by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. (Source: Reuters)
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Deepening Blue Economy Cooperation shows a raft of partnerships including building ports and ships, many of which will be problematic from New Zealand’s security perspective – especially following the escalation of tension in the last 48 hours.
Yesterday flights had to be diverted when commercial pilots were warned to avoid airspace between Australia and New Zealand after Chinese vessels conducted drills around 340 nautical miles south-east of Sydney in international waters.
Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles told the ABC that planes were “literally flying across the Tasman” as China began its exercises and forced to rapidly divert.
The MoU, signed in Harbin, northern China on February 14, lays out investment cooperation in port wharves, shipbuilding and ship repair, ocean transportation, and deep-sea fishing bases.
Pacific Regional Security hub lead Jose Sousa-Santos said under the agreement, China will increase its strategic reach and presence in the Pacific.
“This could enable China to have a resupply capacity for its navy in the Pacific facilitating its presence and acts of intimidation in the region, as seen by the recent live fire exercises in the Tasman Sea,” he said.
Anna Powles from Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies said China’s proposed commercial activities in the Cook Islands has successfully secured a long-term maritime presence.
“The proposed infrastructure will support both China’s fishing fleet and potentially China’s coastguard fleet which has expanded its cooperation into the Pacific Ocean… This comes at a time when China has escalated military tensions in the Pacific region,” she said.
Under the MoU, there will be an Investment Cooperation Working group set up between the two governments “to increase policy exchanges, implement the work set out in the Memorandum and promote investment cooperation in the blue economy”.
As a realm country of New Zealand, the Cook Islands’ constitutional agreement is to consult with Aotearoa on anything that impacts on security or defence.
That has not happened.
New Zealand’s intelligence boss Andrew Hampton said he shared with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown national security advice and intelligence before Brown went to China to sign a number of partnerships.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is currently in Saudi Arabia and will shortly be travelling to China where he will be holding talks with senior Chinese leaders, including his counterpart Wang Yi.
The Memorandum of Understanding:
The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration of the Government of the Cook Islands (hereinafter referred to as “the Parties”), actively implementing the Global Development Initiative, and jointly building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to form synergy with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, and jointly building a maritime community with a shared future, carrying out the Cook Islands Te Ara Akapapa’anga Nui National Sustainable Development
Agenda (NSDA) 2020+, and China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic nand Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, based on the goodwill and needs of businesses of both countries and the practical foundation for strengthening cooperation in the blue economy, hereby agree as follows:
Article 1
The Parties will uphold a mutually-beneficial development partnerships, deepen practical cooperation in the field of blue economy. This includes fostering innovation and sustainable growth drivers, ensuring that all development aligns with principles of conservation sustainability, and ecosystem resilience. High-quality bilateral investment cooperation will accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and promote equitable, greener and healthier global development.
Article 2
The Parties will enhance synergy between blue economy strategies and policies with principles of sustainability, encouraging local governments, industry organisations, research institutes, financial institutions and businesses, to explore the potential of blue economy cooperation through coordinated maritime resource assessments, sustainable development planning and capacity building initiatives to jointly foster a resilient and prosperous blue economy partnership in the future.
Article 3
The Parties will encourage businesses to conduct investment cooperation in the blue economy, including but not limited to the following fields or industries
— Mariculture, distant water fishing, seafood processing, etc
— Port wharves, shipbuilding and ship repair, ocean transportation, etc
— Marine tourism and leisureservices
—- Marine Conservation programs and marine environmental sustainability initiatives
— Photovoltaic, wind power, tidal power and other clean energy transmission networks
— Exploration and development of deep sea mineral resources.
Article 4
The Parties will promote the introduction of more pragmatic and efficient policies and measures, encourage and support businesses to jointly establish marine economic cooperation parks and deep-sea fishing bases, and create better and more attractive investment cooperation platforms for enterprises of the two countries.
Article 5
The Parties will encourage businessesto, in compliance with the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the carbon-neutral commitment targets, fulfill environmental obligations, promote green design, green procurement, green construction, green production and green operation in the blue economy investment cooperation, and facilitate the coordinated development of the local economy, society, people and the marine ecological environment.
Article 6
The Parties will encourage businesses to accelerate green and low-carbon transformation, increase investment in green technology, jointly promote innovation in marine science and technology, green and low-carbon technology, and promote the application and transformation of science research achievements.
Article 7
The Parties agree to establish an Investment Cooperation Working Group under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration of the Government of the Cook Islands the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and as the Executing Agencies of this Memorandum, to increase policy exchanges, implement the work set out in this Memorandum and promote investment cooperation in the blue economy in a more pragmatic and efficient manner.
The communication mechanism, which comprises regular communication through the Primary Contact Points, established within the Cook Islands High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Wellington, New Zealand.
Article 8
Any dispute about the interpretation or implementation of this Memorandum will be solved through consultations between the Parties, who will work in good faith to resolve differences by mutual agreement.
Article 9
This Memorandum will come into effect on the date of signature and remain in effect for five (5) years.
Either Party may terminate this Memorandum by providing written notification to the other Party three (3) months in advance. The termination of this Memorandum will not affect the completion of any cooperation activity which has been formalised while it was in force.
This Memorandum may be amended by the mutual agreement of the Parties, formalised by an exchange of written communications, specifying the date of its entry into force of such amendment.
This Memorandum is a statement of the intent of the Parties and is not intended to create rights and obligations under international law. Each Party’s implementation of this Memorandum shall be consistent with its domestic law.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is set to discuss a controversial Chinese naval exercise off Australia’s east coast when she meets with China’s foreign minister at a G20 meeting in South Africa.
The People’s Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang travels in the Torres Strait off Australia’s coast, on February 11. (Source: Associated Press)
The Australian Defence Force is monitoring three Chinese warships which were spotted moving down the coast about 280km east of Sydney, in international waters, on Thursday.
The vessels, which sparked an alert for commercial pilots on Australia-New Zealand routes, has renewed concerns about China’s growing military ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wong would meet on the incident with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi “in coming hours” at the G20 meeting in Johannesburg
“At that time, Penny Wong will be making that diplomatic representation on our behalf,” Albanese said late on Friday.
He said it was not clear whether he military drills, which accorded with international law, had involved live fire.
“According to Defence, there has been no imminent risk of danger to any Australian assets or New Zealand assets,” the prime minister told reporters in Wollongong.
Earlier, Airservices Australia said it was aware of reports of live firing in international waters and as a precaution informed airlines with flights planned nearby.
The HMAS Arunta, left, shadows the People’s Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang and a Fuchi-class replenishment vessel in the Tasman Sea on February 13. (Source: Associated Press)
Wong said it was “normal practice where a task group is engaging in exercises for there to be advice given to vessels and aircraft in the area, and Airservices is doing what it should do, which is to give that advice”.
A Qantas spokesperson said the airline had temporarily adjusted some flights across the Tasman and was working with the federal government and broader industry to monitor the situation.
New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins said the drills were worthy of attention, describing the vessels as the “most significant and sophisticated” seen in the region.
“This along with the intercontinental ballistic missile that China shot out in October, is real evidence that our distance means nothing now,” Collins told Radio NZ.
Beijing did not alert New Zealand that it was sailing the warships along the Australian coast, Ms Collins said, adding that New Zealand’s government had been aware for “a few days”.
The New Zealand defence force was assisting Australian surveillance efforts, sending a navy vessel and a P8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft to monitor the vessels.
The warships were complying with international law in what appeared to be the Chinese military “showing us that they can do this”, Ms Collins said.
“They’re showing the Australians as well,” she added.
Analysts believe the sailing is an attempt by Beijing to project power and send a message to Canberra about China’s capability.
The sailing follows a run-in with the Chinese military last week, when a fighter jet fired flares in front of an RAAF surveillance aircraft during a patrol over the South China Sea .
The Albanese government lodged a complaint with Beijing over the near-miss, fearing for the lives of the Australian personnel.
