Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has shrugged off criticism from former Labor PM Paul Keating, who has accused Ms. Wong of “rattling the China can” during her speech at the ASEAN Summit on March 4.
“Actually what I spoke about was the sort of region we want, the importance of the maritime domain for our security, for our economic prosperity—the importance of ensuring that international law continues to operate and be respected and observed—particularly in the South China Sea and in the region,” she told the ABC on March 6.
“I think that’s a reasonable position,” Ms. Wong said, adding that she is focused on Australia’s national interests.
During her speech at the ASEAN-Australia special summit in Melbourne on Feb. 4, Ms. Wong iterated Australia’s commitment to furthering diplomatic and economic ties but emphasised the need for ASEAN nations to counter any claims of territorial dominance.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is hosting the three-day ASEAN-Australia special summit being held in Melbourne.
“We all have a responsibility to shape the region we want, the region we want to share—peaceful, stable, and prosperous—a region in balance. Where each country can pursue its own aspirations, where no country dominates and no country is dominated,” Ms. Wong said.
While Ms. Wong did not name China, her comments were aimed at the communist regime, which has refused to acknowledge the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that found China had no legal claim in the South China Sea.
“We see claims and actions that are inconsistent with international law, particularly with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the legal order for the seas and the oceans,” Ms. Wong said.
“We face destabilising, provocative, and coercive actions, including unsafe conduct at sea and in the air and militarisation of disputed features.
“We know that military power is expanding, but measures to constrain that military conflict are not, and there are a few concrete mechanisms for averting it.
“So these factors give rise to the most strategic, most confronting circumstances in our region for decades.”
This comes as coast guard vessels from the Philippines and China collided in the South China Sea on March 5, with Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela describing Beijing’s actions as “reckless and illegal.”
‘Be Bold’: Wong
Ms. Wong also announced that Australia would invest $64 million over the next four years, including $40 million in new funding, to enhance Australia’s Southeast Asia maritime partnerships.“This will expand our maritime cooperation and contribute to peace and prosperity in the management of maritime domains within the region,” she said, adding that Australia has been a long-standing trusted maritime partner for ASEAN, delivered Law of the Sea training across ASEAN, and member states, and co-hosted ASEAN workshops on maritime issues and conflict prevention.”
The foreign minister also announced that Australia would invest a further $222.5 million through the Mekong-Australia partnership to boost “resilience and prosperity” in the Mekong region.
Ms. Wong also welcomed the resumption of military-to-military talks between Washington and Beijing. Beijing had previously cut communication with the United States after then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
She added that preventative measures must be in place to reduce the risk of conflict through “misunderstanding or miscalculation.”
“What happens in the South China Sea, in the Taiwan Strait, in the Mekong subregion, across the Indo-Pacific affects us all,” she said.
“Australia will always seek our security within the security of our region.
“We recognise and respect the strength of ASEAN’s collective voice, which resonates throughout the region when it speaks of its view of the importance of rules and sovereignty.
“Our challenges are vast, and I encourage (ASEAN) participants to be bold—as all our governments must be bold—because nothing less than the peace and prosperity of our region is at stake.”
