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

China accused Australia on Friday of deliberately provoking it with a maritime patrol in the disputed South China Sea this week, saying the latter was spreading "false narratives", though Australia maintained its action adhered to international law.

China in turn accused the Australian plane of "deliberately" intruding into airspace over the disputed Paracel Islands,

What China seems to be saying with its war games near Australia is: If you’re challenging our air space over the South China Sea, which belongs to

China claims Australia provoked an incident on Tuesday where a Chinese fighter jet released flares in front of an Australian military plane in the South China Sea.

Australia has raised concerns with China over what it said on Thursday were "unsafe and unprofessional" actions by a Chinese fighter jet towards an Australian maritime patrol in the South China Sea two days earlier,

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter crossing the Tasman Sea as part of maritime security cooperation with Australia and New Zealand knew Chinese naval ships were in the area but had no interaction with them, its commanding officer said on Tuesday.

Australia has accused the Chinese air force of an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with one of Canberra’s military aircraft over the South China Sea during a routine maritime surveillance operation.

China didn’t violate any rules with its live-fire naval exercises. So, why are Australia and New Zealand so worried?