Pilots first heard about a Chinese live-fire naval exercise near Australia last week when already in the air, receiving messages that forced some to change paths through a busy air corridor, satellite text messages to and from pilots seen by Reuters show.

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.

A Virgin Australia pilot is responsible for alerting authorities to Chinese live fire drills off Australia’s east coast last week, a Senate Estimates hearing has revealed.

Air traffic control started sending hazard alerts to nearby aircraft, including a Singapore Airlines flight from Christchurch to Singapore and an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Melbourne around 11:30 a.

Airservices Australia has revealed that a Virgin Airlines pilot was the first to spot three Chinese warships off Australia's east coast last week.

Chinese naval drills in international waters between Australia and New Zealand caused dozens of flight diversions.

Planes first heard about a live-fire drill when a Virgin Australia pilot picked up a Chinese navy broadcast. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The Chinese naval task group continued in a westerly direction while transiting off Australia's southern coast.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Chinese warships around Australia were a “real wake up call”. The Australian military faced criticism after it was revealed that commercial pilots had detected Chinese warships conducting live-fire drills along the east coast before military officials were informed.