Albanese confirms Xi meeting at APEC, defends Australian navy operations in South China Sea as routine
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Friday that he held informal discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit but declined to provide details about whether ongoing South China Sea incidents were addressed, defending Australian naval operations in the disputed waters as routine freedom of navigation missions conducted “on a regular basis” with no connection to the diplomatic gathering.
The prime minister’s carefully calibrated comments highlighted the diplomatic tensions Australia faces as it seeks to rebuild economic relationships with China while maintaining military activities in contested Asian waters that Beijing views as provocative.
Albanese told reporters at a news conference in Seoul that he had greeted President Xi and engaged in “a short informal discussion with him” during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. When pressed repeatedly by journalists about whether the conversation addressed recent incidents involving Australian vessels in the South China Sea, including what one reporter described as a “flare incident,” the prime minister invoked diplomatic protocol.
“At the risk of repeating myself, I don’t go out of private discussions and come in here and discuss them because that way you won’t have diplomatic advancement,” Albanese said. “It was an informal discussion with President Xi.”
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He added that the South China Sea issue had been raised during formal discussions with Chinese Premier Li, though he provided no specifics about that conversation either. The prime minister’s refusal to detail private diplomatic exchanges appeared consistent with what he described as Australia’s approach to building trust with international partners through discretion.
The questions from reporters reflected ongoing tensions over Chinese actions in the South China Sea and Australian naval responses. When asked whether the deployment of Australian vessels on freedom of navigation missions in recent weeks was related to specific incidents or timed to coincide with the APEC summit, Albanese firmly rejected any special significance.
“With regard to our activity in the South China Sea and freedom of navigation, that’s what we do,” Albanese said. “We do that on a regular basis. We do it in an orderly way and there’s nothing special about that.”
Asked specifically about timing given the regional security focus at APEC, the prime minister reiterated: “There’s no implications for that. It’s something we do regularly.”
The exchanges underscored Australia’s position that its naval presence in the South China Sea constitutes routine operations in international waters rather than provocative actions timed for diplomatic leverage. Freedom of navigation operations by Western navies in the disputed waters have been a persistent source of friction with Beijing, which claims much of the South China Sea despite competing claims from multiple Southeast Asian nations and adverse rulings from international tribunals.
Australian vessels have participated in freedom of navigation transits through the region for years, often in coordination with U.S. naval operations. These missions involve sailing through or conducting exercises in waters that China claims as its territorial sea or exclusive economic zone, with Western powers arguing they are asserting rights to transit through international waters.
Recent incidents have reportedly involved close encounters between Chinese and Australian vessels, with some resulting in what defense analysts describe as unsafe maneuvers or use of warning measures. The “flare incident” referenced by reporters appeared to involve such an encounter, though Albanese provided no official confirmation or details about specific events.
The prime minister’s meeting with President Xi represented the latest in a series of high-level engagements between Australian and Chinese leaders following years of diplomatic freeze between Canberra and Beijing. Albanese has previously met with Xi on multiple occasions, marking a significant thaw in relations that had deteriorated under previous Australian governments over issues including Australian calls for an investigation into COVID-19 origins and Chinese trade restrictions on Australian goods.
During Friday’s news conference, Albanese noted broader points of agreement with China on trade policy, highlighting comments President Xi made to the APEC gathering. “I welcome President Xi’s comments that he made,” Albanese said. “They were in support of issues which Australia has advocated for as well, on supply chains, on freedom of trade, on the World Trade Organisation being central to dispute resolutions as well.”
When a reporter suggested irony in Xi’s comments about securing supply chains given recent Chinese government threats of export controls on rare earth minerals, Albanese declined to engage with the contradiction, instead emphasizing areas of policy alignment.
The prime minister’s handling of South China Sea questions reflected a broader balancing act visible throughout his APEC engagement—maintaining Australia’s security partnerships and freedom of navigation principles while pursuing economic re-engagement with China and avoiding unnecessary diplomatic provocations.
Australia’s defense posture in the Indo-Pacific has remained robust even as diplomatic relations with China have improved. The nation is proceeding with major defense acquisitions including nuclear-powered submarines through the AUKUS partnership with the United States and United Kingdom, advanced missile systems, and expanded air and naval capabilities explicitly designed to operate in contested environments.
Defense analysts note that Australia faces a fundamental strategic challenge: its economic prosperity depends heavily on trade with China, which accounts for roughly one-third of Australian exports, while its security framework relies on alliance with the United States and military capabilities designed to counter potential Chinese aggression in the region.
The South China Sea remains a potential flashpoint for military conflict, with multiple nations maintaining overlapping claims to islands, reefs and maritime zones throughout the waterway. China has constructed military facilities on artificial islands in disputed areas and regularly challenges foreign naval vessels operating in what Beijing considers its territorial waters.
Australia’s approach—conducting regular freedom of navigation operations while simultaneously pursuing diplomatic engagement with Beijing—reflects what defense officials describe as a strategy of maintaining deterrence through military presence while keeping channels for dialogue open to manage crises and reduce miscalculation risks.
Albanese’s emphasis on the routine nature of Australian naval operations appeared designed to de-escalate any suggestion that recent deployments represented a change in policy or a deliberate provocation timed to the APEC summit. By characterizing the operations as ordinary and ongoing, the prime minister sought to separate military activities from diplomatic engagement.
The informal nature of the conversation with Xi—as opposed to a formal bilateral meeting—also suggested both nations may be managing expectations about the pace and scope of rapprochement. While diplomatic relations have improved markedly from their nadir several years ago, fundamental strategic tensions remain unresolved.
When asked about broader Australia-China relations and his ability to engage with both Beijing and Washington, Albanese emphasized Australia’s reliability as a diplomatic partner. “Australia’s international engagement is in good shape,” he said. “We are a reliable partner. We engage respectfully. We engage diplomatically. Our word counts. We don’t discuss private conversations that we have.”
The prime minister suggested that maintaining confidentiality about diplomatic discussions was essential to Australia’s effectiveness on the world stage. “That’s how you get things done. You get things done by being respected in the international community,” he said.
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