November 20, 2023
Did Albo raise it with Xi?
Labor is refusing to confirm if Anthony Albanese personally raised concerns about China's navy injuring several Australian personnel when he met President Xi Jinping in the US.
The opposition has called on the Prime Minister to clarify if he discussed the incident with President Xi or Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in San Francisco in the days after the incident.
Australia on Saturday accused the People's Liberation Army Navy of causing injuries to naval divers when a Chinese warship operated its sonar while they were trying to clear fishing nets from the propellers of the HMAS Toowoomba as it stopped in international waters in Japan's exclusive economic zone on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese was on his way back from the US by the time Australia's accusation went public, though he had confirmed "a longer conversation with the President (Xi) and with Wang Yi" on Friday.
But on Sunday the government would not clarify if the matter was raised, having previously stated it would not engage in megaphone diplomacy.
Albanese government minister Murray Watt instead repeatedly said the government had raised its concerns about the incident with China "in the appropriate way" and that Defence Minister Richard Marles had made Australia's position "very clear".
"We consider that to be a highly unsafe and unpro that this incident has occurred," he said.
"The question for the Prime Minister to answer ... now that he's back in the country is did he raise this and take this up on behalf of the Australian people and our navy personnel?
Senator Paterson said harm and injuries had been caused during the "serious incident", describing it as "totally contrary" to the "spirit of friendship" China extended to Mr Albanese during his visit this month.
"I think when it comes to our very complex and important bilateral relationship with the People's Republic of China, the professional way for the Chinese navy to be operating," he said.
"Those concerns have been raised at the appropriate levels."
"We, of course, as the Australian government place the utmost priority on the safety and welfare of Australian Defence Force personnel, and we don't want to see them harmed in the way that seems to have occurred here."
But Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said having already "boasted" about the length and depth of his conversations with the China's leaders, Mr Albanese should confirm if he had raised the incident. "(Mr Albanese) would have known before he left Australia that we really have to look at the actions of the Chinese government, not just their words," he said.
"It's pretty fundamental things like this ... that we should be really judging the Chinese government by."
