Anthony Albanese stares at China and a destroyer’s denial set off sonar pulses and injured Australian Navy divers.
Several divers from HMAS Toowoomba were in the water off the coast of Japan last week when a Chinese destroyer engaged in what the government called an “unsafe and unprofessional” interaction.
The accusation has been denied by China, which dismissed the Australian side of the story as “completely inconsistent with the facts” while stating that the warship was always at a safe distance.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) has pressed the bank against Chinese denials that its destroyer has joined Australian navy divers
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was unimpressed by China’s denial of the incident.
The prime minister dismissed that statement when asked whether he believed China carried out the attack.
“I know they did,” Albanese told Fox FM on Wednesday.
“The Australian Defense Force and the Navy, we don’t make a statement like that without checking everything.
“It was a dangerous thing to happen and it shouldn’t have happened.”
The prime minister, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit last week and was keen to improve Australia’s relationship with China, appeared stunned by the denial.
‘They always push back. “We said we will disagree where necessary, and here we have a disagreement,” he said.
The divers suffered minor ear injuries, despite the Australian vessel warning others they were in the area.
Mr Albanese faced fierce criticism over whether he raised the attack on the divers with President Xi.
The incident was only publicly confirmed after the prime minister met President Xi and Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the San Francisco summit.
Mr Albanese did not confirm or deny whether he had confronted the Chinese leader about the attack, but said the issue had been raised in other forms of communication and dialogue.
Opposition defense spokesman Andrew Hastie slammed the Prime Minister at the time, saying if he knew about the incident and deliberately withheld the information it was “outrageous and unacceptable”.
Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Euan Graham said warships were equipped with cameras and surveillance, and activities were recorded as part of good practice measures.
“If the government felt confident enough to make a strongly worded statement about unsafe and unprofessional behavior, they would assume they have good, verifiable grounds for doing so,” he said.
Dr. Graham said the incident forced a “course correction” by the Albanian government, which risked making concessions to China as it tried to stabilize relations with the superpower.
“Silence is a kind of concession – if Australia doesn’t say or do things about the South China Sea or the East China Sea or where the broader order is at stake, then that suits China,” he said.
Several divers from HMAS Toowoomba were in the water off the coast of Japan last week when a Chinese destroyer engaged in what the government called an “unsafe interaction.”
Mr Albanese (pictured) faced a barrage of criticism over whether he raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit last week
Anthony Albanese was received by President Xi Jinping during his recent visit to China.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said at a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday that the safety and well-being of Australia’s defense personnel is the government’s priority.
“We have raised our serious concerns with Chinese authorities following what we consider unsafe and unprofessional interactions with the PLA Navy destroyer,” she said.
China always acted in accordance with international law and practice, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
Australia should “stop making trouble on China’s doorstep and work with China to maintain the momentum of improving and expanding China-Australia ties,” she said.