Australia 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.
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Richard Marles, whose centre-left government came to power in May, held talks for over an hour with China’s Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.“It was an opportunity to have a very frank and full exchange in which I raised a number of issues of concern to Australia,” said Marles, who is also Australia’s deputy prime minister.
China — Australia’s biggest trading partner — responded by imposing tariffs and disrupting more than a dozen key industries, including wine, barley and coal. Marles said the recent interception of an Australian patrol plane in international airspace by a Chinese warplane as well as Australia’s “abiding interest in the Pacific” were among topics discussed.
This included Australia’s focus on ensuring “that the countries of the Pacific are not put in a position of increased militarisation”, he said.
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