Australian PM Criticised for Keeping Quiet on Chinese Sonar Incident

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese listens during the APEC Leaders Retreat Cooperation (APEC) in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 17, 2023. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of allegedly concealing an attack by a Chinese navy ship while not raising the issue with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping during a recent meeting.

On Nov. 14, a Chinese destroyer approached an area where the Australian Navy was conducting a mission in international waters inside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Despite warnings that Australian navy personnel were in the water, the Chinese destroyer turned on its hull-mounted sonar, forcing Australian divers who were operating near the frigate to exit, suffering minor injuries.

It was not until Nov. 18 that Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles condemned the behaviour of the Chinese destroyer, saying it was “unsafe and unprofessional.”

Opposition Questions PM’s Conduct

Meanwhile, the Opposition’s Defence spokesman, Andrew Hastie, said the CCP was completely responsible for its destroyer’s conduct and strongly criticised the Labor government for withholding the information from the Australian public.

“Reports that the prime minister knew about this incident and deliberately withheld information until after leaving for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit are, if true, outrageous and unacceptable,” Mr. Hastie said, as reported by The Australian newspaper.

The Liberal MP also demanded the prime minister reveal whether he raised the incident when meeting with the CCP leader on the sideline of the APEC summit in San Francisco, California, from Nov. 16 to Nov. 17.

“What we continue to see from the prime minister and his Labor government is a lack of leadership and a lack of action,” he said.

“In a week in which the government has failed its most basic task—to keeping Australians safe—the Albanese government has again proved that it can’t be trusted on national security.”

He believed the incident went against the stabilisation of the Australia-China relationship, Mr. Hastie said, adding that the CCP needed to be judged based on their actions rather than their words.

The MP also questioned Mr. Albanese’s ability to lead the country in the event that he failed to raise the issue with Xi due to political purposes.

Meanwhile, Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie said the Labor government could not pretend that the incident did not happen and continue to be nice to the CCP on trade.

“This is just ridiculous. What happened to the friendship and the trust that we’re building and all the rest?” she questioned.

“This is a pretty big issue. It should have been raised, but more importantly, [the prime minister should] come out this morning ... and answer some questions, tell Australia what’s going on, keeping us in the dark is not helpful.”

Labor’s Defence

Former prime minister and U.S. ambassador Kevin Rudd defended Mr. Albanese’s silence on the issue, saying any conversations between him and the CCP leader were confidential in nature.

The ambassador also noted that the defence minister had clearly expressed Australia’s strong position on the CCP.

“We do not comment on the detail,” he told ABC radio, adding that it was a longstanding practice of all governments, both Labor and Liberal.

Chinese Type 052D missile destroyer Hefei (R) and Chinese Type 054A frigate Yuncheng dock in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on July 27, 2017. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

While condemning the Chinese destroyer’s behaviour, Mr. Rudd said the incident would be a test for the stabilising relationship between the two countries.

In addition, he stated that the issue of whether the prime minister had raised the incident with Mr. Xi was “a complete distraction” from the fact that the CCP engaged in unsafe practices against the Royal Australian Navy.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the government would not play politics with the complex relationship with the CCP.

“China is not going anywhere. This is one of the largest countries in the world. We are going to have to find a way to coexist in our region over the coming decades,” she told reporters.

“This recent incident was unacceptable. It was unacceptable, and it put at risk Australians who put on a uniform every day to fight for our country, and we have made our views known to China about this matter.

“What I can tell the Australian people is we will continue to focus on managing this relationship properly.”