New Zealand's foreign minister said he had raised concerns over China's recent live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea during meetings with Chinese leaders on Wednesday.

New Zealand used high-level talks in Beijing to raise concerns about the surprise deployment of Chinese warships off its western coast, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday. Dozens of commercial flights were forced to divert last week when the vessels announced live firing drills underneath a busy flight path halfway between Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand’s foreign minister says China has agreed to consider concerns that its military did not give enough notice before staging live-fire exercises in the waters between New Zealand and Australia last week.

New Zealand’s foreign minister is meeting senior officials in China just days after New Zealand and Australia said that Chinese warships should have given more warning before live-fire exercises in waters between their countries.

New Zealands Foreign Minister Winston Peters has expressed concerns over Chinas recent live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea, criticizing the lack of prior notice given to New Zealand. Speaking in Beijing after meetings

China and New Zealand should become partners of mutual trust and address some specific differences through constructive dialogue, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterpart Winston Peters at a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.

Tensions are rising between New Zealand and China after a Cook Islands-China multilateral agreement and Chinese live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea located between Australia and New Zealand. Australia National University's Graeme Smith joins TaiwanPlus to discuss New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters visit to Beijing.