The defense ministers of Australia and China met on Sunday for the first time in three years, talks Canberra called an "
important first step
" after a long period of tension.
This meeting between Richard Marles and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe of more than an hour took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific security forum "
Shangri-la Dialogue
" in Singapore.
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The Australian minister, who took office in May, described the meeting as a “
very important first step
” and “
far reaching
”.
“
It was an opportunity to have a very frank and full exchange during which I raised a number of issues that are of concern to Australia
,” said Minister Richard Marles, who is also Deputy Prime Minister.
The Chinese government initially made no comment on the meeting.
Relations between Beijing and Canberra are at their lowest since 2020, following Australia's request for an independent inquiry into the origins of the pandemic.
Canberra then excluded Chinese giant Huawei from the market for the construction of its 5G telecommunications network.
China, Australia's biggest trading partner, had retaliated with retaliatory measures targeting more than a dozen Australian products, including coal, wine and barley.
Avoid China's influence in the Pacific
Richard Marles said he mentioned in particular the incident of the military surveillance plane intercepted in May by China over the South China Sea as well as "
Australia's permanent interest in the Pacific
".
These include Australia's desire to ensure that "
Pacific nations are not put in a position of further militarisation
", he said.
"
It's really important at this time to have open lines of dialogue
," added Richard Marles, also Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.
The late May interception of the surveillance plane was described by Canberra as "
very dangerous
".
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Australia is struggling to counter China's influence in the Pacific.
The new centre-left government intends to redouble its efforts in this region after years of strained relations also due to the lack of action by the previous Australian government in the fight against climate change.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Pacific in May where he failed to garner support for a regional security pact.
He nevertheless signed a series of agreements.
New Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has also visited the Pacific Islands since taking office.
Richard Marles stressed the importance of keeping "
open lines of dialogue
" with China.
“
Relations between Australia and China are complex.
And it is precisely because of this complexity that it is really important that we engage in dialogue now
”.
Asked about the next steps, he said Australia wanted to act “
very restrained and very deliberate.
We do not underestimate the difficulties we have encountered in our bilateral relations
”.
He stressed that “
while there is a change in tone, there is absolutely no change in the substance of Australia's national interests
”.