The People's Republic of China has conducted naval exercises with live firing. Australia complained that this forced airlines to change flight routes, but Beijing denied any impact on security, Reuters reports.

Dozens of commercial flights were forced to change course when Chinese warships unexpectedly announced live-fire drills off eastern Australia last week.

Beijing's defence ministry on Sunday accused Canberra of "deliberately hyping up" a Chinese live-fire drill off the Australian coast, saying it was "deeply surprised and strongly dissatisfied" with the claim that it did not give enough notice.

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.

Pope Francis is still critically ill as he battles double pneumonia, but his condition has shown a "slight improvement", the Vatican said on Monday.

Beijing has responded to accusations made by Australian authorities, saying it had "deliberately hyped" recent Chinese naval exercises near the

China’s Defense Ministry says that Australia made “unreasonable accusations” and deliberately hyped the situation after three planes headed to New Zealand changed course in midflight because of live-fire drills by the Chinese navy.

China's Defense Ministry on Sunday rejected Australia's accusations regarding the recent activities and drills of three Chinese warships, Global Times reported.The ministry stated that Australia's remarks are "completely inconsistent with the facts" and emphasized that China's actions comply with international law and practices,