Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles said his meeting with Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe in Singapore officially ended a two-year diplomatic freeze between Canberra and Beijing. 9News
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles said his meeting with Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe, in Singapore officially ended a two-year diplomatic freeze between Canberra and Beijing.
"China is our largest trading partner and we value a productive relationship, that's a point we've made for a long time," Marles said. Marles said his concern was to ensure the Indo-Pacific countries were "not put in a position of increased militarisation".China's Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe speaks at a plenary session during the 19th International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore.
to turn them against Beijing, saying Washington is seeking to advance its own interests "under the guise of multilateralism."