Airlines have been contacted by Australia’s air traffic control agency warning them of reports of live fire off the country’s east coast where a Chinese navy task group has been operating, the agency and Australian officials said.

Commercial airliners flying over the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand were forced to reroute their flights on Friday morning Australian time because of a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) action group warning that it would conduct live-fire drills.

Australia's defense forces, joined by New Zealand, have been monitoring Chinese navy vessels since they were spotted last week.

Australia warned international airlines flying between Australian airports and New Zealand to beware of Chinese warships conducting a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Friday.

The Chinese naval exercises, in international waters off Australia’s eastern coast, while legal, have nonetheless sparked alarm in Australia and New Zealand.

Military exercises by the Chinese navy in international waters southeast of Australia on Friday forced commercial flights transiting the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand to divert.

China’s military is gaining in size and strength, and seeking to increase its ability to project power far from home.

China's naval exercise in the Tasman Sea has put Australia and New Zealand on alert, with Canberra calling it "unusual".