Anthony Albanese criticises China over warship's use of sonar that injured an Australian naval diver

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on November 20 criticised China for a “dangerous” encounter between Chinese and Australian warships but declined to say whether he had raised the issue in recent talks with President Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on November 20 criticised China for a “dangerous” encounter between Chinese and Australian warships but declined to say whether he had raised the issue in recent talks with President Xi Jinping.

He said one Australian diver was injured when a Chinese destroyer used sonar while near an Australian frigate in international waters last Tuesday.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that he had raised serious concerns with Beijing about the destroyer's unsafe and unprofessional behaviour. Between the encounter and Mr. Marles' statement, Mr. Albanese spoke to Xi on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in San Francisco.

Mr. Albanese said on Monday his discussions with Xi were private, rather than a formal bilateral meeting in which content summaries are made public.

“I don't talk about private meetings on the sidelines, discussions I have with any world leader,” Mr. Albanese told Sky News in his Parliament House office.

“It's something that is a regrettable incident. That's why we have put our very strong objections to China very clearly, very directly through all of the appropriate channels in all the forums that are available to us,” Mr. Albanese added.