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Australia, China defence ministers meet for first time in 3 years
"It was an opportunity to have a very frank and full exchange in which I raised a number of issues of concern to Australia," Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said, confirming the meeting to journalists in Singapore.
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China's Defence Minister Wei Fenghe (right) talks to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left), Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen (2nd L) shakes hands with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles, during the ministerial roundtable luncheon at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 11, 2022. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
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ustralia and China's defence ministers met for the first time in three years on Sunday, with the talks described as "an important first step" following a period of strained ties.
"It was an opportunity to have a very frank and full exchange in which I raised a number of issues of concern to Australia," Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said, confirming the meeting to journalists in Singapore.
The meeting between Marles and Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit and lasted more than an hour.
"It is really important in these times to have open lines of dialogue," said Marles, who is also Australia's deputy prime minister.
"Australia and China's relationship is complex. And it's precisely because of this complexity, that it is really important that we are engaging in dialogue right now."
There was no immediate comment from Wei or the Chinese government on the meeting.
Relations between Beijing and Canberra have grown frosty in recent years, after the latter called for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and banned Chinese telecom giant Huawei from building Australia's 5G network.
Marles, who also serves as Australia's deputy prime minister, told Sky News Australia the pair had shaken hands at the high-level security summit "but there's been no opportunity to have a proper conversation".
Relations between Beijing and Canberra have grown frosty in recent years after the latter called for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and banned telecom giant Huawei from building Australia's 5G network.
Marles cautioned that the interaction was "literally nothing more than a handshake", but he did note that United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Wei in Singapore.
He called on China to be transparent about its "very significant military build-up".
"Insecurity is what drives an arms race, and we can't afford to see that happen in this part of the world," Marles said.
The handshake came as Australia's Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell sought a meeting with his Chinese counterpart while in Geneva for World Trade Association meetings.
"I look forward to an early opportunity to engage with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao," Farrell said in a statement.
