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

Beijing on Sunday said Canberra had “deliberately hyped” recent Chinese naval exercises near the Australian coast and confirmed its forces had used live fire in an incident that rattled Australian policymakers.

China’s live-fire naval exercises in the Tasman Sea triggered heightened concern but relatively muted criticism from the leaders of Australia and New Zealand on Saturday.