Defence Minister Richard Marles admits the government does not know whether Chinese warships actually performed live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea – despite footage of explosive drills being shown on state-run media.

The timeline over who knew what and when about the exercises by a Chinese flotilla of three warships on Friday has been a point of contention all week.

The exercises, conducted 640 kilometres off the NSW south coast, resulted in 49 aircraft being forced to change course. 

Admiral David Johnston told a Senate estimates committee on Wednesday a warning from a New Zealand warship, which Australia was relying on to track three Chinese warships off Australia’s east coast, was received in Canberra at around 11am. 

This was 90 minutes after the firing had allegedly started and 40 minutes after a warning was issued by a Virgin Australia airline pilot who overheard an emergency broadcast from one of the warships mid-flight.

The pilot notified aviation officials who issued a hazard warning two minutes later, and by 10.10am, the Australian Defence Force was notified.

It then took New Zealand authorities another 50 minutes to alert the Australian Defence Force through official channels. 

Defence Minister Marles downplayed confusion over the timeline, saying the government had already made it ‘really clear’ the advance notice China gave was ‘inadequate’, but then said the exercise was no ‘real threat’ and it was uncertain if live fire was even used. 

Defence Minister Richard Marles admitted the government doesn’t know whether Chinese warships actually undertook live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea – despite the Communist state-run media sharing footage of explosive drills

Pictured: footage released by the Chinese state-run media of live-firing exercises purportedly taking place in the Tasman Sea under an area of busy airspace

‘(China) notified a window, which, according to the evidence in Senate estimates, would appear to have begun before the notice was given,’ Mr Marles told the ABC on Thursday morning. 

‘But it’s also unclear whether or not live firing took place.’

His uncertainty lingered even after Daily Mail Australia revealed on Tuesday that  Chinese state-run media ran footage of live-firing exercises taking place in the Tasman Sea, under busy airspace. 

The footage showed Chinese navy officers sprinting up stairs on one of the vessels before one of the commanders ominously placed his thumb on a red button.

The clip then cut to the foredeck of the destroyer Zunyi, where a large-calibre anti-ship naval gun fired repeated rounds of ammunition into the sea.

A still image showed at least ten empty munitions’ shells scattered on the deck. 

It is not possible to verify whether the footage was actually recorded on Friday.

At the least, China wants the Australian government to think that it was performing live-fire exercises. 

A still image showed at least ten empty munitions’ shells scattered on the deck in the middle of live firing exercises (pictured). Of course, it is almost impossible to verify whether the footage was actually recorded on Friday. However, the implication is clear: China wants the Australian government to think that it was performing live-fire exercises

Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said Australia’s description of the events was ‘completely inconsistent with the facts’

Anne-Marie Brady, a Mandarin-speaking professor at the University of Canterbury who specialises in Chinese domestic and foreign policy, told Daily Mail Australia that the drills were a warning of China’s future intentions. 

‘The livefire exercises in the Tasman are a shot across the bow to Australia and New Zealand of China’s sea power and desire to normalise a permanent presence in the South West Pacific,’ Ms Brady said. 

‘There has been a steady buildup of People’s Liberation Army naval capacity across the South West Pacific.’

Mr Marles further revealed that the Chinese flotilla is currently about 500km west of Hobart, ‘on the edge of Australia’s exclusive economic zone’. 

China has insisted it issued ‘repeated safety notices’ before blasting missiles into the sea.

‘The Chinese side’s actions were entirely in accordance with international law and in line with international practices, which would not impact aviation safety,’ China’s Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said.

Mr Marles also admitted that the government did not know if a submarine was accompanying the Chinese warships.

‘That’s why submarines matter,’ he said.

‘That’s why we’re investing heavily in our long-range submarines.

‘We can’t answer that question definitively, which is precisely why it’s important that Australia has a long-range submarine capability.’

Under the AUKUS partnership, Australia is set to acquire nuclear-powered submarines in a deal with the US and the UK.

A total of 49 commercial flights were forced to change course in an area of busy airspace between Australia and New Zealand due to the drill on Friday

Liberal Senator James Paterson grilled officials during Wednesday’s hearing, and accused the government of making a false equivalence between the conduct of the Australian military and the People’s Liberation Army.

The evidence given at Senate estimates also appears to contradict the timeline given by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Paterson said Mr Albanese’s comments had been misleading. 

‘It’s not really notification of an upcoming exercise if we only find out about it after it has commenced, is it?’ he told Senate estimates.