Paul Keating warns spy chiefs are undermining relations with Asia

Paul Keating says Australia is at odds with its ASEAN partners because foreign policy has been undermined by spy chiefs.

Former prime minister Paul Keating. Picture: John Feder

Paul Keating has blasted the ­government’s regional strategy, warned security tsars Mike Burgess and Andrew Shearer should have been sacked, and accused Foreign Minister Penny Wong of seeking to “rattle the China can” at ASEAN.

In another intervention in the national debate from the former Labor prime minister, Mr Keating argued that Australian foreign policy towards Beijing and the broader region was conflicted because of the “Goon Show” led by Mr Burgess, who heads up ASIO, and Mr Shearer, who runs the ­Office of National Intelligence.

“These people display utter contempt for the so-called stabilisation process the Prime Minister had decided upon and progressed with China – and will do anything to destabilise any meaningful rapprochement,” Mr Keating said.

But a number of Labor MPs disagreed with Mr Keating’s comments, including Northern Territory MP Luke Gosling.

“Paul Keating is a respected former Labor PM and a smart guy but on this he is wrong. The world and our region has moved on since (his) time in office,” Mr Gosling said.

“The threats are very different and they are pervasive. The Albanese government is doing what I think he would have done during his prime ministership – looking after Australia’s long-term strategic interests and defending our sovereignty against foreign interference.”

While some Labor sources indicated that they were frustrated by Mr Keating’s interventions, others said his comments were not new.

On Tuesday, Anthony Albanese met the leaders of Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, East Timor and Indonesia. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin urged him to roll out the National Vehicle Efficiency Standard – dubbed a ute tax by the Coalition – “gradually”, rather than simply flicking the switch on the policy abruptly in 2025.

A translation of a Thai readout of the bilateral meeting said Thailand exported “more than 200,000 cars to Australia per year, with pick-up trucks being the main export product. The Prime Minister has asked for the new standards to be gradually implemented”.

“This gives manufacturers and exporters time to make the transition away from combustion vehicles consistent with their shared environmental commitments and economic benefits.”

Mr Albanese and his fiancee Jodie Haydon later hosted the ASEAN leaders and their spouses for dinner at the National Gallery of Victoria after a reception attended by 400 delegates and business leaders.

On Wednesday, Mr Albanese will host the ASEAN leaders’ retreat at Government House and announce the establishment of a new ASEAN-Australia Centre in Canberra as well as 130 new scholarships for students and mid-­career professionals as part of a $61.5m package to deepen engagement with the region.

But Mr Keating – a fierce critic of the AUKUS agreement – warned on Tuesday that Australia was at odds with its ASEAN partners because it was committed to maintaining US primacy in Asia.

Anthony Albanese makes a toast during the ASEAN dinner in Melbourne. Picture: AFP

He said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had, on Monday, dropped a “huge rock into (Senator) Wong’s pond by telling Australia not to piggyback Australia’s problems with China onto ASEAN”.

“Anwar is making it clear, Malaysia, for its part, is not buying United States hegemony in East Asia – with states being lobbied to ringfence China on the way through. That difficult task, the maintenance of US strategic hegemony, is being left to supplicants like us,” Mr Keating said. “Australian policy is at odds with the general tenor of ASEAN’s perceived strategic interests.”

The criticism from the former Labor leader was dismissed by Mr Albanese, who on Tuesday unveiled a new $2bn investment ­facility to help underpin the clean-energy transition and better infrastructure in Southeast Asia. He said the government was overseeing “the most significant upgrade of Australia’s economic engagement with Southeast Asia for a generation. And he clarified that Australia’s position on China was to “co-operate where we can” and “disagree where we must”, but warned the opportunities in the region could only be realised if international law was respected.

Holding a joint press conference with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Albanese said that freedom of navigation in the South China Sea was important because “a large percentage of Australian trade goes through that sea”.

Leaders watch as an Indigenous Australian boy performs after they posed for the family photo during the 50th ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne. Picture: AFP

“We support freedom of navigation (and) we also support the application of international law,” he said. “We are holding this summit in the context of the fact that we live in close proximity to the fastest-growing region in the world in human history.”

“That presents an enormous opportunity, but it’s an opportunity that relies upon international laws being respected, relies upon trade being encouraged in a fair and transparent way as well,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Lee said that ASEAN was negotiating a code of conduct with Beijing on the South China Sea, but warned it would “take some time”.

“We have an interest in freedom of navigation and the application of international law,” Mr Lee said. “It’s a vital artery for international trade for us … there are four ASEAN members who have claims, who are claimant states in the South China Sea. And these claims overlap with each other and overlap with claims by China.”

Mr Albanese said he spoke with Mr Lee “about an upgrade of our maritime relationship as well when it comes to defence,” with the Singaporean leader saying Australia had “a very important role” to play in the region.

“I’ve said before, and I repeated to the Prime Minister, that when the Australian new submarines are ready, we welcome them to visit Changi naval base in due course,” Mr Lee said.

In his sharply worded statement, Mr Keating said that “when the Albanese government was elected, the first decision it should have taken was to dismiss Burgess, Andrew Shearer and (former secretary of Home Affairs) Mike Pezzullo”.

“In the event, Pezzullo shot himself but, unbelievably, Burgess and Shearer still remain at the centre of a Labor government’s security apparatus.”