Anthony Albanese declares no detention link to Nauru switch

Anthony Albanese has rejected that Australia’s winding down of its detention facility in Nauru has contributed to the island nation recognising the People’s Republic of China.

Anthony Albanese in Margate in Tasmania on Wednesday. Picture: David Killick

Anthony Albanese has rejected claims Australia’s winding down of its detention facility in Nauru contributed to the island nation recognising the People’s Republic of China instead of Taiwan.

The Prime Minister also signalled he did not intervene to try to stop Nauru’s impending diplomatic switch, arguing the Pacific state was free to make decisions for itself as a sovereign nation.

The comments come after Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister claimed Nauru requested a large amount of economic aid before its diplomatic switch to recognise China to cover the financial gap left by the mothballing of Australia’s offshore immigration processing facility in the country.

The federal opposition and security experts have urged Mr Albanese to reveal whether he had any interactions with the island nation, warning Australia must help immunise smaller states from China’s cashbook diplomacy in the Pacific.

Mr Albanese on Wednesday said Australia’s decision to wind down the facility was a good one for taxpayers. And on Nauru’s switch to Beijing from Taipei, he said: “That’s a decision for Nauru as a sovereign government. We respect decisions that they make.”

The comments come after The Australian revealed Labor would spend up to $350m a year keeping the Nauru detention centre open even when it was empty so it could use Tony Abbott’s Operation Sovereign Borders to deter people-smugglers from sending boats to Australia.

The last asylum-seeker at the offshore detention centre left the facility last June, but the government said it remained “committed to an enduring regional processing capability in Nauru”.

Security experts have urged the Albanese government to establish a Tuvalu-style treaty with Nauru in order to prevent the ­island nation from being left vulnerable to Chinese coercion.

Mr Albanese would not commit to pursuing an economic and security pact with the Pacific country but pledged to continue discussions “respectfully”.

He said Labor’s ramped-up climate targets had given the government a foot in the door with Australia’s Pacific partners.

“Well, what we do is when we talk to countries about international agreements, we talk to them directly, we don’t talk at press conferences,” he said.

But Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge said Mr Albanese should be upfront about Australia’s policy direction in the Pacific rather than hide behind claims he did not want to reveal details of private conversations with leaders.

“I don’t think saying you can’t comment on what’s going on behind closed doors helps anyone. Why not say something positive like saying Australia is open to an economic arrangement with smaller pacific states if they are interested,” Mr Shoebridge said.

“It’s not giving away secret conversations but is y saying Australia has a policy direction and is doing something about it. You’ve got to wonder whether he doesn’t know what he is doing or thinks it’s smart to say nothing.”

Nauru’s surprise diplomatic shift came just two days after Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party retained the presidency in national elections in a rebuff to China. It leaves Taiwan with just 12 countries that recognise it diplomatically.

A spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry refused to say how much money Beijing had agreed to give Nauru.

“As a sovereign country, the Republic of Nauru independently made the right choice,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said.