Australian PM Anthony Albanese says China ties damaged by navy divers incident

CANBERRA – Australia made clear its “strong objections” to Beijing after a Chinese destroyer disregarded warnings about personnel in the water and used sonar pulses that injured a navy diver, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“This was dangerous, it was unsafe and unprofessional from the Chinese forces,” he said in an interview with Sky News on Nov 20.

“The consequences of these events are that they do damage to the relationship.”

A People’s Liberation Army-Navy destroyer ignored requests to keep clear of the divers who had been freeing nets entangled around the propellers of the Australian navy’s HMAS Toowoomba frigate.

The incident occurred on Nov 14 inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The event has prompted criticism from Australia’s opposition coalition, which said Mr Albanese was more interested in photo opportunities with Chinese President Xi Jinping during November’s visit to China and was not prepared to protect Australia’s national interests.

Mr Albanese rejected that characterisation.

“We’ve made it very clear to the Chinese of our strong objections,” he said. “This sort of event should not occur.”

China’s defence ministry responded on Nov 20 disputing Australia’s account. The Chinese destroyer monitored HMAS Toowoomba from a safe distance and did not carry out any activities that might affect the diving operations of the Australian side, it said in a statement.

“We urge the Australian side to respect the facts and stop making reckless and irresponsible accusations against China,” it said, adding that Beijing had lodged a complaint with Canberra.

Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Nov 20 that “the Chinese military has strict discipline and has always conducted professional operations in accordance with international law and international practices”.

“It is hoped that relevant parties will stop causing trouble at China’s doorstep and work with China to maintain momentum for improving and developing China-Australia relations,” she said.

With his trip, Mr Albanese became the first Australian leader to visit China in over seven years.

Ties between Beijing and Canberra have rapidly improved since his centre-left government was elected 18 months ago.

The Australian vessel had been in the waters as part of Operation Argos, enforcing sanctions against North Korea during a regional presence deployment. Bloomberg