Audio from plane cockpits as China conducted live fire drills in Tasman Sea

Newly released cockpit audio has revealed the moment a commercial pilot alerted air traffic control to Chinese warships conducting live fire drills in the Tasman Sea.

The transmissions, from February, came as a Chinese naval task force operated in international waters between Australia and New Zealand. A Virgin Australia pilot can be heard asking whether anyone was aware of a live firing exercise after receiving a warning from the task force directly.

Air traffic control had no prior notice. Asked what altitude the firing extended to, the pilot replied that the warning specified only a ten nautical mile radius around the task force's position.

The episode prompted questions in both countries about notification arrangements for military exercises near busy civil aviation corridors, and about how quickly information reached controllers who had aircraft in the area.