‘Devastating conflict’: Penny Wong warns of destabilisation, provocation by China

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has issued a stark warning about the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific as China rises to superpower status, arguing the region’s character is under threat from destabilising and provocative actions.

Wong delivered her forceful speech on the opening day of the ASEAN-Australia special summit in Melbourne, where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held his first bilateral meeting of the three-day event with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says the Indo-Pacific faces its “most confronting circumstances” in decades.Credit: Alex Ellinghasen

Speaking in front of visiting South-East Asian political leaders and business figures, Wong said that the region faces its “most confronting circumstances” in decades.

“Shared prosperity is an incentive to maintain peace, yet it is not enough to guarantee peace,” Wong said.

“The stakes are clear.

“We know that a major conflict in our region would be devastating to our communities and economies, as the terrible conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine have shown.”

Nine South-East Asian leaders have travelled to Melbourne for the event, as well as the leaders of New Zealand and East Timor.

Anthony Albanese welcomes Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim to the ASEAN-Australia special summit.Credit: Joe Armao

Announcing an extra almost $290 million in funding for maritime security and environmental protection for South-East Asia, Wong said that preserving a prosperous and stable Indo-Pacific will require all nations in the region to “nurture and protect agreed rules, uphold international law, prevent conflict and build strategic trust”.

“This is more important than ever with the region’s character under challenge,” she said.

In comments that did not directly name, but were clearly aimed at, China, Wong said: “We see claims and actions that are inconsistent with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); the legal order for the seas and oceans.

“We face destabilising, provocative and coercive actions, including unsafe conduct at sea and in the air and militarisation of disputed features.

“We know that military power is expanding, but measures to constrain military conflict are not – and there are few concrete mechanisms for averting it.”

Wong welcomed the resumption of leader-level and military-level dialogue between the United States and China, saying: “These are important steps on the path towards stability that the region has called for.

“We must also commit to preventive architecture to increase resilience and reduce the risk of conflict through misunderstanding or miscalculation.”

The dire consequences of military conflict “requires all of us to shape habits of cooperation that sustain the character of our region”, Wong said.

“To insist differences are managed through dialogue, not force,” she continued.

“To insist that communication never be withheld as a punishment or offered as a reward.”

As well as diplomacy, Wong said investing in military capability was crucial to deterring a conflict.

“Our longstanding defence partnerships in the region, including with ASEAN member states, build not only interoperability, but friendships and understanding,” she said.

“Together, we show the high costs for anyone seeking to provoke conflict.”

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