Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing growing pressure to reveal whether he discussed the incident of two Australian navy divers getting injured by a Chinese warship with the Beijing leadership.
Australian navy divers from HMAS Toowoomba were in the waters near Japan on Nov. 14 when a nearby Chinese warship activated sonar pulses, the government said.
The divers suffered minor injuries to their ears despite advising the warship to steer clear.
Mr. Albanese said he raised the “dangerous” incident with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership in San Francisco on Nov. 18 through “all of the normal channels.”
“There was no bilateral meeting with President Xi where you give a readout of what the events occurred. I don’t talk about private meetings on the sidelines, discussions I have with any world leader,” he added.
Accusations of Lack of Transparency: Opposition
Senate Opposition Leader Simon Birmingham argued it was “normal practice” for the prime minister to reveal the subjects he discussed with world leaders.“And that if there are issues of sensitivity in relations between two countries, to be clear, that those issues have been transparently raised,” he told Sky News.
He said Australians didn’t expect Mr. Albanese’s lack of transparency.
“He’s tied himself in knots over this issue by a failure it seems to actually actively address it,” he said. “And it’s pretty clear the reason he won’t say it is because he didn’t.”
Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie released a statement, criticising Mr. Albanese for “deliberately” withholding information about the incident until he left for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Further, he said the government’s handling of the incident went against its claim of repairing relations with Beijing.
“We have always said that we will judge the Chinese Communist Party on their actions rather than their words, and this provocative behaviour contradicts the government’s belief they are witnessing a stabilisation of the relationship with China. This incident is evidence to the contrary,” he said.
Diplomatic Concerns: Australia Expresses Worries to China Over Regional Engagement and Rules-Based Order
Earlier this month, Mr. Albanese met with Mr. Xi to stabilise relations following years of tension.“This visit was an important step in stabilising relations with China, our largest trading partner. While there are differences between us, both Australia and China benefit from cooperation and dialogue,” Mr. Albanese said.
The government said Beijing continued to be a worry, however, as most of Australia’s trade travelled through the South China Sea.
“It is concerning because you know our engagement in the South China Sea and the East China Sea in that part of the world,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said.
“We are seeing attempts to shape the rules-based order. And what this says to us is that, you know, now’s the time to be building our own capability, which we’re doing, but now is the time for us to be working very closely with friends.”
