By Kirsty Needham, Lucy Craymer and Lisa Barrington SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) -Australia expressed concern to China on Friday over the short notice given by the Chinese navy that it would hold a live-fire exercise in international waters between Australia and New Zealand,

Australia warned airlines flying between Australian airports and New Zealand to beware of Chinese warships potentially conducting a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea, officials said Friday. Regulator Airservices Australia warned commercial pilots of a potential hazard in airspace between the countries as three

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

Airlines have been contacted by Australia’s air traffic control agency warning them of reports of live fire off the country’s east coast where a Chinese navy task group has been operating, the agency and Australian officials said.

Military exercises by the Chinese navy in international waters southeast of Australia on Friday forced commercial flights transiting the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand to divert.

China's naval exercise in the Tasman Sea has put Australia and New Zealand on alert, with Canberra calling it "unusual".

On Friday morning, three planes from Sydney bound for the New Zealand cities of Christchurch and Queenstown were in the air when they were warned by a Chinese warship of a live-fire exercise.