Albanese walks fine line on China before heading to ASEAN
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The news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will continue his “patient, deliberate and calibrated” work to unthaw relations with China at this week’s ASEAN summit, but stresses he “remains concerned” by rising tension in the South China Sea.
The context: Albanese jets to Laos on Wednesday morning to attend the two-day conference, where he will meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday.
Labor has attempted to repair relations with Beijing, which hit a nadir during the Covid-19 pandemic under Scott Morrison.
Speaking to Parliament before heading to the airport, Albanese said the meeting would continue his government’s attempts to unthaw relations with Beijing.
China has removed a series of tariffs imposed during the pandemic, and bilateral talks resumed soon after Albanese took office.
But Beijing’s more assertive stance in the South China Sea, where it is attempting to overrule territorial claims by a host of regional players, is set to loom over the summit.
The US has accused China of “irresponsible behaviour” in the South China Sea, after an alleged Chinese attack on Vietnamese fishermen in contested waters over the last week. The US will be represented by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, with President Joe Biden skipping the summit for the second year running.
Without naming Beijing, Albanese was at pains to stress Australia “remains concerned” about events in the region, and said he was looking forward to seeing Philippines President Bongbong Marcos at the summit. Marcos has taken a more assertive posture towards Beijing, is close to Washington, and is deepening military ties with regional players.
Albanese will also meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon the same day.
What they said: “I will be meeting with Chinese Premier Li, building on the patient delivered and calibrated work that this government has stabilised the relationship with China ... National security in our region is obviously critical, we remain concerned about the events [in the South China Sea],” Albanese said.
The sources: Parliament Question Time, The Canberra Times
