A top Chinese official has warned Australia that its naval vessels need to act “prudently” in waters anywhere near China in the wake of a confrontation which left two Australian divers with minor injuries.
Key points:
- The speech came after a Chinese warship approached HMAS Toowoomba and deployed sonar, injuring two divers
- Liu Jianchao said China used sonar to monitor the ship and did nothing to “endanger” sailors or divers
- The incident has reignited tensions between China and Australia following Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing
The federal government lodged protests with Beijing after a Chinese warship approached the Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba in international waters in the East China Sea earlier this month, deploying sonar while the two divers cleared fishing nets from its propeller.
The incident reignited tensions between China and Australia in the wake of Anthony Albanese’s landmark visit to Beijing in early November, with the defence minister accusing China of “unsafe and unprofessional” behaviour.
The head of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Department, Liu Jianchao, fielded questions about the incident while speaking at the University of Technology’s Australia-China Relations Institute in Sydney.
Mr Liu struck a generally positive and optimistic tone for much of his address, sketching a positive trajectory for the bilateral relationship and suggesting that Australia and China could cooperate on development projects in the Pacific.
But he was less conciliatory when pressed about the HMAS Toowoomba incident, suggesting that China used sonar to monitor the ship because Australia had previously accused China of “coercive” behaviour in both the East and South China Seas.
“This kind of rhetoric … gives the Chinese people a message that the reason why Australian naval ships are there was really to contain China. So that’s the message we have been getting,” he said.
“It’s why you are there and the statements you make … China has its interests in the (East) China Sea and we have to do some kind of analysis and judgement of the military presence in that area.”
Australian officials were particularly frustrated by the Chinese navy’s behaviour because Toowoomba was operating well clear of China’s coast in international waters within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, and was enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions designed to curtail North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
But Mr Liu said the confrontation occurred in waters which are claimed by both Japan and China, and that the Chinese navy did nothing which would “endanger” Australian sailors or divers.
“What would happen if a Chinese naval ship came to …. waters near Australia? Naturally you send your ships to monitor and identify and to do anything to prepare for any wrong happenings,” he said.
He also suggested that any future confrontations in either the East China Sea or the South China Sea could “really escalate if not properly managed” although he stressed there was no need to “panic” about them.
“We do urge the Australian government and also the military to act with great prudence in this area, because China and the countries concerned, from Southeast Asia and Japan, will be moving about this very carefully,” he said.
“Let’s treasure and value the peace and stability we enjoy.”
Mr Liu also talked up the prospect of China and Australia cooperating on joint development projects in the Pacific, claiming that Beijing was not seeking a “sphere of influence” in the region, and respected Australia’s ties with Pacific Island nations.
That’s likely to draw a sceptical response from Australian government officials who believe China is intent on establishing itself as a strategic presence and major security partner for Pacific Island countries like Solomon Islands.
Mr Liu also said Australian journalists were “welcome to (come) back” to the country as ties between Canberra and Beijing improved, although he said media organisations would still “have to go through procedures” mandated by Chinese law.
Many Australian media outlets have struggled to get visas approved for journalists in the wake of the COVID pandemic and as political tensions exploded between China and Australia, although several reporters were permitted to travel to Beijing for the prime minister’s trip earlier this month.