Anthony Albanese issues stark US and China warning and says nations must promote peace

Anthony Albanese told Asia’s top security conference that a conflict between China and the United States in the Taiwan Strait would have devastating global consequences as he argued that all Indo-Pacific countries must work to ensure peace in the region.

The Prime Minister used his keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore to call on the region’s leaders to take their collective responsibility to ensure that competition between the US and China does not lead to a collapse that leads to conflict. leads.

In what has been described as his most important foreign policy speech to date, Mr. Albanese said that all countries should actively work to promote peace and regional stability, not just major power rivals.

Speaking to representatives from 40 countries – including China and the US – Mr Albanese identified open dialogue as the “essential precondition” or “guardrail” for a world where two countries can disagree without that disagreement “turning into disaster” .

Speaking to leaders, defense ministers and ministers gathered at the Shangri-La hotel, Mr Albanese said Australia’s renewed efforts by the administration of US President Joe Biden to establish reliable and open communications with the Chinese government in Beijing to achieve, strongly supported.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s National Defense Minister Li Shangfu would both watch Mr Albanese’s speech.

In his speech, Mr. Albanese cited a recent speech given by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in China, in which he said: “Great powers have a heavy responsibility to maintain stable and workable relations with each other”.

Albanese warned that the alternative could have far-reaching consequences.

“The silence of the diplomatic deep freeze only arouses suspicion, only makes it easier for nations to attribute motive to misunderstanding, to assume the worst of each other,” he said.

“If you don’t have the push button of the dialogue, if you don’t have the capacity – at the decision-making level – to pick up the phone, seek clarity or provide context, then there is always a much greater risk of assumptions spilling over into irremediable action and response.’

Mr Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia last November. Photo: Twitter

Albanese said the consequences of such a disruption “in the Taiwan Strait or elsewhere” would not be limited to the great powers or the place of their conflict, but would be devastating to the world.

“That is why as leaders in this region – and as citizens of it – we must do everything we can to support the building of that first and most fundamental guardrail,” he said.

“If one nation thinks it’s too big for the rules, or too powerful to abide by the standards the rest of us respect, the strategic stability of our region is undermined and our individual national sovereignty is eroded.”

Albanese said his government has “placed dialogue at the heart of our efforts to stabilize our relationship with China.”

“We are not naive about this process or its limitations,” he said.

“We recognize that there are fundamental differences in our two nations’ systems of government, our values ​​and our worldview.

“But we operate on the principle that whatever the issue, whether we agree or disagree, it is always better and more effective if we act immediately.”

Mr. Albanese used his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore to call on the region’s leaders to take their collective responsibility to ensure that competition between the US and China does not lead to a collapse leading to conflicts (pictured is US President Joe Biden)

Mr Albanese said that this strategy also includes ‘a recognition of our common interests’.

“We have strongly advocated the removal of all barriers to our trade,” he said.

Not just because Australian producers benefit from the opportunity to export our high-quality products and raw materials to our largest trading partner.

“But because China clearly benefits from being able to import them.”

Albanian is expected to visit Beijing sometime later this year after being invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping as the strained diplomatic relationship between their two countries continues to improve.