Australia seeks military talks with China, ties with Philippines

Australia has asked for military talks with China and is comfortable growing closer to the Philippines, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.
China and the Philippines are locked in confrontation in the disputed South China Sea and their encounters have grown more tense as Beijing presses its claims to shoals in waters that Manila says are well within its exclusive economic zone.
Australia has stepped up its presence in the region and a joint amphibious exercise with the Philippines at Palawan island in August was Australia’s biggest outside its own borders last year.
Australia has also said its recent encounters with China’s military fell short of being safe and professional, and Marles said he discussed the issue with Chinese defence chief Dong Jun on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday.
Chinese defence officials met their Australian counterparts in Canberra last year in their first formal meeting since 2019.
Since then, Australia has complained of a close encounter with a Chinese jet over the Yellow Sea and sonar being deployed while Australian divers were in waters close to Japan, which it said was dangerous.