Wong Urges China to Reassure Region on Military Build-Up
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- Penny Wong called on China to provide assurances about its military build-up — which she called the largest since WWII — and criticized a recent Chinese missile test in the Pacific for lacking notice and predictability.
- Wong made the remarks at the ASEAN meeting in Manila on July 21, where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also attended, and emphasized ASEAN nations are central to Australia's strategic interests.
- Australia has signed defence deals with Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Indonesia, and India since its centre-left government took office in 2022, while continuing to deepen ties with the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia.
- Wong called on all parties to observe the law of the sea following this week's clash between Chinese and Philippine coast guards.
- Australia balances its economic relationship with China — its largest trading partner — against a seven-decade US security alliance, with ties to Beijing having improved after the pandemic but not returned to pre-2020 levels.
- Wong reiterated calls for Middle East de-escalation, saying both sides including the Iranian regime need to negotiate in good faith and stop proxies from escalating.
Why it matters: Australia is using ASEAN as a venue to publicly pressure Beijing on transparency while preserving its US security alliance — a balance complicated by what Wong called the unpredictability of the Trump administration. For Beijing, Wong's demand for 'assurances about intent' adds diplomatic friction precisely as it pursues what she characterized as the fastest military build-up since WWII.
