Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed his alarm about the potential consequences of a Chinese naval facility being established in Cambodia.
The station would be located on the northern portion of Cambodia’s Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand, according to the Washington Post.
According to the publication, the creation of such a base is part of Beijing’s aim to build a global network of military installations to support its ambitions to become a truly global power.
‘This is concerning,’ Mr Albanese told reporters in Makassar on Tuesday, during a trip to Indonesia.
‘We are in regular contact with the Cambodian Government and we have been consistently assured that no foreign military will be granted exclusive access at Ream.
‘We’ve been aware of Beijing’s activity at Ream for some time and we encourage Beijing to be transparent about its intent and to ensure its activities support regional security and stability.’
Meanwhile, as the deputy prime minister prepares to travel to Singapore for a defense forum, the Australian government has left the door open for high-level engagement with China.
While a request for a bilateral meeting on the fringes of the Shangri La Dialogue at the end of the week has not been received, Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia is still open to talks.
It comes after Mr Marles announced on Monday that he would not seek a meeting with his Chinese counterpart at the summit, raising questions about whether Australia would accept any olive branches provided by Beijing.
‘Deputy Prime Minister Marles said he has not received a formal invitation to meet with his counterpart at the Shangri La Dialogue,’ a spokesperson from his office said.
‘The Australian government has said that it welcomes the opportunity to resume ministerial dialogue with China.’
As it tried to promote a regional security arrangement with Pacific island states, China’s foreign minister told state media outlet Xinhua that Beijing will maintain a “open stance” and “carry out more trilateral or quadrilateral co-operation with Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific.”
Wang Yi earlier stated that any defrosting of the Sino-Australian relationship would require ‘real efforts.’
The summit will come a week after tensions between Canberra and Beijing heightened over an aerial incident in the South China Sea region.
Mr Marles revealed on Sunday a Chinese J-16 aircraft flew dangerously close to a RAAF P-8A Poseidon conducting routine surveillance in international airspace.
Mr Albanese called the May 26 incident ‘an act of aggression and a dangerous act against the Australian air force’.