China protests New Zealand maritime patrols, New Zealand denies disrupting commercial aviation

China protested New Zealand’s aerial patrol over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, saying it disrupted commercial flights and put at risk its security.

Manuel Mogato | April 18, 2026

BEIJING — China protested New Zealand’s aerial patrol over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, saying it disrupted commercial flights and put at risk its security.

However, a spokesman for the New Zealand Air Force denied China’s accusations, saying the P-8 Poseidon flight was not directed at Beijing, but was part of a United Nations mission to monitor North Korea’s compliance with sanctions.

China said New Zealand’s anti-submarine aircraft had repeatedly harassed its airspace.

In a statement, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, said that a New Zealand Air Force maritime surveillance aircraft recently conducted repeated close-in reconnaissance and harassment in the airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

“The action undermined China’s security interests, increased risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and gravely disrupted the order of civil aviation in relevant airspace,” said Guo Jiakun.

Guo Jiakun said China urged New Zealand to abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns, and maintain the safety and order of civil aviation.

However, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Defence Force said its maritime patrol aircraft had been monitoring the North Korean sanctions evasions in North Asia under UN Security Council resolutions.

“These activities are not directed at China but rather aim to monitor evasions of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, which do occur in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding it has been helping impose UN sanctions in North Korea since 2018.

“NZDF has reviewed the routes flown and all available information. We have no data that indicates they disrupted civil aviation.”