China urges Australia against ‘irresponsible accusations’ over naval sonar claim

Peter Dutton has accused Anthony Albanese of not being upfront over whether he raised Beijing’s use of sonar pulses in international waters in his meeting with Xi Jinping.

Anthony Albanese meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Picture: Twitter

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Anthony Albanese “doesn’t know” how to stand up for Australia’s national interest and has accused the Prime Minister of not being upfront over whether he raised Beijing’s use of sonar pulses in international waters in his meeting with Xi Jinping.

Despite Mr Albanese refusing to divulge the content of his meeting with the Chinese President at APEC, Beijing officials proceeded to blast Australia on Monday for failing to “respect the facts” when it came to the incident, which injured an Australian navy diver.

Mr Dutton said Mr Albanese’s refusal to say whether he raised the matter with President Xi indicated he “didn’t have the strength of leadership to stand up and to talk in our country’s interests” when the two leaders met.

“It really is quite startling that we have at least one of our Navy divers, a member of the Australian Defence Force, injured and yet our Prime Minister is not prepared to stand up in our national interest,” Mr Dutton said.

“If the Prime Minister didn’t raise this issue with President Xi, he should be upfront and open and honest with the Australian public. If he didn’t, he’s made a catastrophic mistake and he needs to apologise for it.

“If he did raise it, he needs to come up with a proper explanation as to why he continues to talk in riddles.”

Mr Dutton said the relationship with China, particularly when it came to trade, would always be important, but that didn’t mean the Prime Minister had to “back peddle or soft peddle” over matters of national interest.

Overnight, Beijing warned Canberra against making “reckless and irresponsible accusations against China” after Australia said sonar pulses emitted by a Chinese warship “likely” injured its navy divers.

“We urge the Australian side to respect the facts, stop making reckless and irresponsible accusations against China,” defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said, adding China “did not engage in any activities that may have affected the Australian divers”.

Canberra accused Beijing over the weekend of “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct at sea around the HMAS Toowoomba, a long-range frigate that had been supporting United Nations sanctions enforcement efforts within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said divers were clearing fishing nets from the ship’s propeller when the vessel was approached by a Chinese destroyer that “likely” injured a number of servicemen with its hull-mounted sonar.

Wu said the Australian version of events was “completely inconsistent with the facts”, adding China “firmly opposes this and has made solemn representations to the Australian side”.

“The Chinese military’s ‘Ningbo’ destroyer took measures such as tracking, monitoring, identification, and verification in accordance with the law and regulations,” Wu said.

Earlier on Monday, Beijing’s foreign ministry also defended the conduct of the Chinese military, saying it was in line with international law.

“It is hoped that relevant parties will stop causing trouble at China’s doorstep and work with China to maintain momentum for improving and developing China-Australia relations,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference.

China and Australia have been working to patch up their once-close trading relationship after years of bickering and tit-for-tat reprisals.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a breakthrough trip to Beijing earlier this month, hailing the progress as “unquestionably very positive”.

But tensions remain when it comes to security, as Australia draws closer to the United States in an effort to blunt China’s expanding influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Diving Medical Advisory Committee, an independent London-based organisation, has warned that sonar sound waves can cause divers to suffer dizziness, hearing damage and organ damage.

The HMAS Toowoomba – commissioned in 2005 – is a long-range frigate packed with advanced surveillance capabilities and “world class” weapons systems, according to the Australian navy.

On Monday, Anthony Albanese refused to say whether he raised the incident with Xi Jinping at APEC, in a move condemned by the opposition as evasive and inadequate.

Speaking for the first time about the sonar incident, the Prime Minister blasted the “dangerous” and “unprofessional” conduct by the Chinese destroyer, which knowingly used its sonar while Australian personnel were in the water.

He revealed one of the divers had “suffered an injury” from the warship’s active sonar, and said the government conveyed Australia’s objections to China “very clearly through all of the normal channels”.

But when asked directly if he raised the incident with President Xi, Mr Albanese deflected.

“When I was in San Francisco, there was no bilateral meeting with President Xi, where you give a readout of what the events occurred (sic),” he told Sky News.

“I don’t talk about private meetings on the sidelines, discussions I have with any world leader.

“That’s how you keep communications open. But I can assure you that we raised these issues in the appropriate way, very clearly, unequivocally, and there is no misunderstanding as to Australia’s views on this.”

The Sky interview was Mr Albanese’s first since arriving back in Australia, and did nothing to clear up the growing pressure on his government over the incident.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Mr Albanese’s response “defies credibility”.

“Australians can only deduce from Mr Albanese’s evasiveness that he didn’t raise Australia’s concerns with China’s military actions, thereby failing to adequately seize the opportunity to make Australian concerns known at the highest level,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Australia should be making our concerns clear to the highest levels of Chinese leadership because this isn’t just a one-off incident, it is part of a dangerous pattern of behaviour that we need China to cease engaging in.”

The November 14 incident in Japan’s exclusive economic zone occurred before Mr Albanese headed to the APEC conference but was only revealed by the government as he was heading home.

Former navy clearance divers spoken to by The Australian said the Chinese destroyer – which knew the divers were in the water – could have seriously injured the Australian personnel.

“Sonar presents a massive hazard to divers in the water,” one said. “Essentially, the diver can suffer severe injuries that disable them. When you’re working underwater that can be really dangerous.”

With AFP