Marles delivers right China message in right forum
The defence minister’s realistic assessment is that China’s aggression is not only a threat but is undermining China’s legitimate self-interests that should be pursued as part of a peaceful, stable and prosperous regional order.
The optics may have ended up clashing with Labor’s narrative about continuing to “stabilise” the China relationship a fortnight before Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit in Australia. Yet, despite the dual confrontations with Chinese officials at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the double-edged message sent to China by Defence Minister Richard Marles was the right message delivered in the right forum.
Mr Marles used his speech to South-East Asia’s major regional security conference to reject as “totally wrong” the idea that the West was “indelibly hostile” towards China playing a leading role in a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.
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