Overview
- Beijing lodged a serious protest Friday accusing a New Zealand P-8A of repeated close-in reconnaissance over the Yellow and East China seas and of risking civil aviation safety.
- The New Zealand Defence Force said the Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft was monitoring North Korean sanctions evasion under UN Security Council resolutions.
- Officials said the crew followed international law and regional aviation procedures and that a review of flight routes found no data showing disruption to commercial flights.
- New Zealand confirmed talks with Chinese officials but did not release operational details or confirm whether the aircraft was the Kadena, Okinawa deployment Japan announced for mid-March to mid-April.
- The P-8A is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft used for sea surveillance, and New Zealand has flown similar sanctions-monitoring missions nine times since 2018 as relations with China have faced strain.