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.

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

Beijing's defence ministry on Sunday accused Canberra of "deliberately hyping up" a Chinese live-fire drill off the Australian coast, saying it was "deeply surprised and strongly dissatisfied" with the claim that it did not give enough notice.

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.

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-f

Beijing on Sunday said Canberra had “deliberately hyped” recent Chinese naval exercises near the Australian coast and confirmed its forces had used live fire in an incident that rattled Australian policymakers.

Pope Francis is still critically ill as he battles double pneumonia, but his condition has shown a "slight improvement", the Vatican said on Monday.

Dozens of commercial flights were forced to change course when Chinese warships unexpectedly announced live-fire drills off eastern Australia last week.

Leaders in Australia and New Zealand say China should have given them more warning before its navy conducted an unusual series of live fire exercises in the seas between the two countries, forcing flights to divert on short notice.