Australia learned about Chinese live-fire naval drills off the country’s coast that forced dozens of flights to be diverted via an alert from a commercial pilot, authorities said on Monday.

China’s Defense Ministry says that Australia made “unreasonable accusations” and deliberately hyped the situation after three planes headed to New Zealand changed course in midflight because of live-fire drills by the Chinese navy.

New Zealand raised fresh concerns Monday over nearby live-fire drills conducted by Chinese warships armed with “extremely capable” weapons, an unprecedented show of firepower last week that analysts say are part of Beijing’s ongoing plan to build a blue-water navy with global reach.

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

Aviation officials first found out about the Chinese live fire exercises through a Virgin pilot, with the activity causing the diversion of almost 50 flights.