Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong warned about the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific as she prepares to meet her British counterpart for defense talks that will likely focus on regional issues including China’s military expansion.
(Bloomberg) — Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong warned about the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific as she prepares to meet her British counterpart for defense talks that will likely focus on regional issues including China’s military expansion.
Speaking on Tuesday before joining Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles for two days of annual bilateral talks with their British counterparts, Wong said that “if conflict were to break out in the Indo-Pacific, it would be catastrophic – for our people and our prosperity.“
“The cost would extend far beyond us and reach into every region,” she said in a speech at King’s College London. “So we must ensure that competition between major powers is managed responsibly.”
The meetings come as Australia, the UK and the US are expected to announce a design for Canberra’s new fleet of nuclear submarines early this year. The vessels are being delivered as part of the AUKUS security agreement the nations signed in 2021, largely to counter China’s growing military clout.
When asked about Wong’s remarks Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said “China is committed to upholding regional peace and stability.”
She added that AUKUS “creates additional nuclear proliferation risks,” and called on the three nations behind it to “act in the interest of regional peace and stability.”
See: Albanese Says Australia to Focus on China Ties, Restoring Trade
China’s ties with the US, Australia and some other Western nations have improved since Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden held their first in-person meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia in November. Last month, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he wanted “to continue to develop more positive relations,” and Xi said later that ties were heading in “the right direction.”
Still, tensions linger between China and the US and its allies, especially over Taiwan. Also, this week the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said China ramped up its Coast Guard patrols around key features across the disputed South China Sea last year, raising the risk of a mishap that could lead to a larger conflict.
Also: Australia Speeds Up Purchase of Sea Mines With Eye on China
Wong and Marles have held meetings with their Chinese counterparts in the months since Labor’s election victory to try to cut tensions.
Last month, new coal import deals were struck after Chinese authorities signaled an easing of an informal ban on Australian cargoes that were imposed in 2020 as relations soured over issues including the origins of the coronavirus.
Other measures continue to hamper trade in everything from lobsters to wine and timber, and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell is due to meet virtually with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao next week.
–With assistance from Colum Murphy.
(Updates with comments from China’s Foreign Ministry.)
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