Reuters-Australia PM Chinese navy incident that injured diver was dangerous
November 20, 2023 3 min 435 words
这起中澳海军事件引起澳大利亚总理Anthony Albanese的强烈反应，他指责中国军舰在澳军潜水行动中表现危险、不安全和不专业。此次事件导致一名潜水员受伤，损害了中澳关系。Albanese强调有必要建立“沟通导轨”以防止类似事件发生。然而，他对与中国领导人的私人会晤中是否提及此事保持沉默，引发国内压力。这一事件凸显了中澳紧张关系，对两国关系造成损害。中国驻澳大利亚大使馆回应时称，中国军队一直遵循国际法和国际惯例，呼吁相关方停止在中国门口制造麻烦。中澳关系的紧张局势需要通过开放对话和务实合作来化解，以维护地区稳定。
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a Chinese warship acted in a dangerous manner during an incident with an Australian navy vessel that injured a military diver, his first comments on the matter which he said had damaged ties.
HMAS Toowoomba - a long-range frigate - was conducting a diving operation in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone on Nov. 14 to clear fishing nets from its propellers when the incident occurred, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday.
Albanese, who met briefly with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco last week, has come under domestic political pressure over whether he raised the matter with the Chinese leader.
In an interview on Monday with Sky News Australia, Albanese said the incident hurt one person and showed the need for "communication guardrails" between militaries.
"This was dangerous, it was unsafe and unprofessional from the Chinese warship," he said.
Albanese said the incident was raised through "all of the normal channels", but didn't disclose if it was discussed in his private meeting with Xi at APEC.
"The consequences of these events are that they do damage to the relationship. And this certainly is an event that does do damage. And we've made that very clear to China," he added.
A People's Liberation Army Navy destroyer closed towards HMAS Toowoomba, despite the Australian vessel notifying the Chinese warship of a diving operation, and operated its hull-mounted sonar in a manner that posed a safety risk, Marles previously said.
Medical assessments found minor injuries to divers likely caused by the destroyer's sonar, the defence minister added.
Albanese visited China this month, the first Australian leader to do so in seven years, agreeing to restart an annual leaders dialogue.
China's embassy in Australia referred to comments by China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular media briefing in Beijing on Monday, that China's military "is always highly disciplined and conducts professional operations in accordance with international law and international practice".
"We hope the relevant party will stop stirring up trouble at China's doorstep and work with us to jointly sustain the momentum of the improvement and development of China-Australia relations," she added.