Defence Minister Richard Marles reveals ‘very frank’ discussion with Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in Singapore

Australia’s diplomatic freeze with China has ended after three years, with the defence minister revealing a “very frank and full exchange” with his counterpart.

DEFENCE Minister Richard Marles has challenged his Chinese counterpart on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and the militarisation of the Pacific in the first ministerial meeting between the two countries in three years.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister spoke with General Wei Fenghe for an hour on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday, saying it was a “critical first step” after the lengthy diplomatic thaw.

The pair agreed to the talks after sitting on the same table at an official dinner on Friday.

“It was an opportunity to have a very frank and full exchange in which I raised a number of issues of concern to Australia,” Mr Marles said, which also included a Chinese fighter jet flying close to an Australian surveillance plane in the days after last month’s federal election.

The Chinese plane released a bag of “chaff” including aluminium fragments that were sucked into the engine of the Australian aircraft, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said was a dangerous incident.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles meeting with Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe in Singapore. Picture: Supplied

Speaking after the talks, Mr Marles said it was “really important in these times to have open lines of dialogue”.

“We want to take this in a very sober and very deliberate manner … We don’t underestimate the difficulties we’ve had in our bilateral relationship,” the Defence Minister said.

He said Australia wanted a productive relationship with China, but that this could only be maintained “without any conditions at all”.

“While there is a change of tone, there is absolutely no change in the substance of Australia’s national interest,” Mr Marles said.

While he refused to detail General Wei’s response to his concerns, Mr Marles said freedom of navigation was crucial to prosperity and stability in the region, and that Australia wanted to ensure “the countries of the Pacific are not put in a position of increased militarisation”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has been on a blitz of the Pacific after China struck a controversial security pact with the Solomon Islands and sought to negotiate further deals with other Pacific nations.

Richard Marles refused to detail China's Defence Minister Wei Fenghe’s response to his concerns. Picture: AFP

Mr Marles called for greater transparency about China’s military build-up, the largest since the end of World War II.

General Wei had earlier addressed the summit and accused Australia of meddling in the South China Sea, as he argued freedom of navigation was “not under threat”.

He attacked the US and its allies for partnerships such as the Quad and AUKUS which he claimed would “hijack” the Indo-Pacific and target Beijing.

“It is a strategy to create conflict and confrontation to contain and encircle others,” he said.

General Wei said the Chinese government did not “provoke troubles” or “bully others”, but he warned: “If anyone dares to attack us then the (People’s Liberation Army) will not hesitate to fight back.”