Singapore | Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stepped up warnings over China’s behaviour, declaring any attempt to change the status quo by force across Asian flashpoints, including Taiwan and the South China Sea, would see the consequences of conflict outstrip any potential prize.

Delivering the keynote address to the Indo-Pacific’s premier defence conference in Singapore on Friday night, Mr Albanese issued a plea to Beijing to agree to set “guardrails” with the US to prevent the superpowers’ rivalry veering into conflict.