Anthony Albanese says Beijing has been left in no doubt that the “reckless, unsafe and unprofessional” actions of its navy in the East China Sea last week would damage the recovering relationship between Australia and China.

However, in breaking his silence two days after the government revealed the incident, the prime minister refused to say whether he raised it specifically during informal discussions late last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco.