Marles Defends Response to CCP’s Naval Circumnavigation of Australia

Defence Minister Richard Marles has pushed back against opposition criticism over the government’s response to the three Chinese warships that circumnavigated Australia earlier this year, warning it risks undermining bipartisan support for international law.

During Question Time, opposition defence spokesperson Angus Taylor questioned whether Australia’s activity with allies in the South China Sea had given Beijing a green light to conduct live-fire military drills off New South Wales (NSW).

“Is the prime minister seriously suggesting because Australia engages with allies in the South China Sea that the Chinese Communist Party is free to conduct live-fire exercises without warnings off the south coast of New South Wales?” Taylor asked.

Marles said the incident, where the warships were conducting exercises 346 nautical miles off Eden on Feb. 21, took place in international waters, in accordance with global maritime law.

“I’ve always understood that the maintenance and support of the global rules-based order has been a matter of bipartisanship between the parties of government in this country,” he said.

He warned that Taylor’s question implied the opposition no longer supported core principles such as the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and freedom of navigation.

“It underpins our national interest as a global trading nation … the basis upon which this country does its exports and imports, and basis upon so much of the prosperity of our nation, so much of our national income,” he said.

Marles said Australia’s naval operations in contested regions like the South and East China Seas were conducted under the same international rights China invoked to justify its actions.

Transparency on Weapons, War Crimes

Earlier during the question time, Independent MP Helen Haines pressed Marles on transparency around Australia’s defence exports, particularly weapons parts possibly linked to Israel.

“There is lack of transparency around Australian-manufactured weapons, weapons parts, and trade with Israel,” Haines said. “This makes it difficult to understand whether Australia is complicit in breaches of international humanitarian law in Palestine.”

Marles responded, saying, “We are not making weapons for Israel. It is as clear as that. We have not been doing so since the conflict began on Oct. 7, but we’re not doing it for years prior to that.”

He said he could “absolutely guarantee” the government is not complicit “in the way in which you describe” and warned that spreading misinformation only raises tensions and undermines social cohesion in Australia.

The exchange comes as the Centre for Public Integrity criticised the Albanese government for a declining transparency record. Its latest report shows more FOI requests were refused than granted in 2022–23, the first such result since records began.