China has accused a New Zealand patrol aircraft of disrupting civil aviation while monitoring for North Korean sanctions evasion, prompting a swift denial from Wellington.

At a press briefing on Friday, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said a P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft operated by the New Zealand air force had “recently conducted repeated close-in reconnaissance and harassment in the airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.”

“The action undermined China’s security interests, increased risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and gravely disrupted the order of civil aviation in relevant airspace,” said spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

Beijing urged New Zealand to abide by