Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday warned the Chinese government to heed the lessons of Russia’s “strategic failure” in Ukraine as he heads to Europe for a meeting of NATO leaders.
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, conducted en route to Spain for the NATO meeting, Albanese said that the Ukraine invasion had brought democratic nations together, “whether they be members of NATO, or non-members such as Australia.”
When asked what message the Chinese government should take from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, particularly for its ambitions toward Taiwan, Albanese said the war “had shown attempts to impose change by force on a sovereign country meet resistance.”
Photo: AFP
Albanese’s latest comments come at a time when Australia and China are tentatively exploring restarting diplomatic engagement under the Albanese government, which was sworn in just over a month ago after winning at the polls last month.
However, there are still a large number of points of diplomatic tension between the countries, including Beijing’s growing presence in the Pacific, punitive measures placed by China on Australian exports and the detention of two prominent Chinese Australians.
Albanese is to join the leaders of three other Asia-Pacific nations — Japan, South Korea and New Zealand — at the NATO summit in Spain, before flying to Paris for a meeting to work on mending ties with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Australian leader has been invited to visit Ukraine by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but has not yet confirmed whether he will make the trip.
At a news conference on Monday after landing in Madrid, Albanese confirmed that he had spoken to Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare for the first time since taking power.
The Australian leader said that it was a “very constructive” discussion.
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