Wong to Warn China, ASEAN Against Weaponising Hormuz
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- Penny Wong will use Thursday's 59th ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila to warn China that Australia and regional nations "will not be bullied" by its provocative actions, citing a second "destabilising and dangerous" South China Sea incident this week.
- China's July test of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile in the South China Sea drew Wong's "provocative and destabilising" label, with her saying it came with "too little information and notification" amid China's rapid military and nuclear buildup.
- The China Coast Guard allegedly clubbed a Filipino sailor with a baton on a disputed South China Sea shoal on Monday, prompting Wong to say she would "continue to register concerns" about Chinese vessel conduct toward Philippine, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Indonesian ships.
- Wong will warn ASEAN that weaponising the Strait of Hormuz would impose "grave" costs on fuel-dependent Southeast Asia, with Brent crude surging 23% over two weeks to near $US90 a barrel and Iranian-aligned Houthis announcing a blockade of Saudi ports.
- Iran's president declared the country in "full-scale war" on Tuesday after the US expanded its aerial campaign and Tehran struck Washington's Gulf allies, with Wong cautioning that "people suffer when a strait is weaponised."
- Australian fuel prices have pushed diesel above 220 cents/litre and petrol above 187 cents/litre in some cities, and Commonwealth Bank chief economist Luke Yeaman predicted the federal government may have to restore the 32-cent fuel excise discount.
- China's long-range missile test in the South Pacific occurred hours after Australia signed a defence agreement with Fiji, with PM Anthony Albanese flagging concerns the missile could cause "considerable, considerable damage were it to be weaponised."
Why it matters: Wong's address ties Australian fuel security — with diesel above 220c/L and petrol above 187c/L — directly to regional stability, asking ASEAN to help plug supply gaps as Iran threatens full-scale war and Houthi-aligned forces blockade Saudi ports. It also sharpens Australia's public posture toward China ahead of further military buildup in the South China Sea, while Australia's own nuclear-submarine commitments go unaddressed in the speech.
