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Australia boosts South China Sea presence

March 2, 2018 | 12:36pm

Australia boosts South China Sea presence

In this June 2017 photo, HMAS Ballarat (center) conducts a passage exercise in the South China Sea with Japanese maritime self defense force ships Izumo and Sazanami and the Royal Canadian ship HMCS Winnipeg.

Royal Australian Navy / Released

MANILA, Philippines — Australia shares the United States' concern on Beijing's militarization activities in the disputed South China Sea.

According to a report from Wall Street Journal, Australia has increased its naval presence in the contested waters in response to concerns about regional stability.

Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne, in a parliamentary hearing, had expressed Canberra's unease on Beijing's rising military capabilities in the region.

Payne told the Australian Senate that the country has stepped up its naval presence in the South China Sea in the last 18 months despite not joining freedom of navigations operations of the United States, according to WSJ reporter Rob Taylor.

Australia's heightened presence in the disputed waters is part of a "strong focus on security and stability in the Indo-Pacific."

Lyle Morris, senior policy analyst at Rand Corporation, noted that Australia has been conducting presence operations and joint training for almost two years.

"They just aren't doing (freedom of navigation operations) within 12 (nautical miles) of disputed features. Australia deserves more credit for this," Morris said on Twitter.

In a meeting last week, US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull expressed serious concerns about the situation in the South China Sea.

The two leaders called on all parties to "exercise restraint and resolve disputes peacefully based on international law."

Trump also expressed his gratitude to his Australian counterpart for Canberra's support to US freedom of navigation operations.

Meanwhile, Beijing has implemented a "diplomatic deep freeze" over Canberra following Turnbull's foreign interference laws and naval challenges in the South China Sea, The Australian reported.

China reportedly stalled ministerial visits and deferred trips of Turnbull and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

Turnbull is supposed to visit Beijing this month but has not been followed up while Bishop's scheduled Chinese trip has yet to be decided after the Chinese congress finishes, the report said.

Senior government sources of The Australian, however, denied that senior ministerial trips have been affected by Turnbull's South China Sea policy.

Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times had labeled Australia as an "anti-China pioneer" on the issue of foreign interference among Western nations.

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