Beijing dresses down Australia’s Navy Chief over South China Sea

China’s top naval commander has hit out at Australia for undermining “peace and stability” in the South China Sea.

Australia sent a six-ship fleet and 1200 Australian Defence Force personnel to take part in the Indo-Pacific Endeavour multi­national military exercises.

China’s top naval commander has hit out at Australia for undermining “peace and stability” in the South China Sea when he met Australian Chief of Navy Tim Barrett.

The formal complaint, splashed across Chinese media outlets, was partly in response to Australia’s participation in exercises which saw Australian ships cross the South China Sea and the East China Sea in September, according to The Global Times.

Australia sent a six Royal Australian Navy ship fleet and 1200 Australian Defence Force personnel to take part in the Indo-Pacific Endeavour multi­national military exercises, which started on September 4 and ran through until November 26.

The comments were reportedly made during a meeting between People’s Liberation Army Navy Commander Shen Jinlong and visiting Vice Admiral Barrett on Thursday, the Ministry of National Defence said.

“The situation in the South China Sea is positive, but a series of moves by the Australian navy this year have compromised the overall trend of peace and stability in the area,” Commander Shen said.

“This goes against the consensus agreed by leaders of both countries, as well as the goodwill they are trying to develop. It is also not beneficial to the safety and stability of the region.”

The news comes amid a fierce diplomatic row between Australia and China over allegations Beijing has meddled in Australia’s political system.

The Australian revealed that Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Australia’s Ambassador to China Jan Adams for a formal rebuke on Friday last week and made further representations to Australia via their Canberra embassy in Canberra.

A number of countries, such as India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Thailand also took part in the Indo-Pacific Endeavour.

The Australian first reported China’s concerns about Australia’s participation in the exercises in early September.

In an article published by the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, The People’s Daily, Australia was accused of “encircling” China.

It quoted an academic from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Gao Cheng, who said he agreed Australia was simply a “loudspeaker” set up in the Asia Pacific by a US radio station.

“He further pointed out that Australia belongs to the ‘first echelon’ in the Asia-Pacific ¬region in its support for the United States. It often acts as the ‘assistant police’ for the United States in the region,” the article’s author wrote.