Aus prepared for Chinese spies at war games
While Mr Conroy said the most 'up-to-date information' was that Chinese surveillance vessels had not yet been spotted, he said it 'would be unusual' for that activity not the occur given Beijing have done so since 2017.
The biennial war games involve more than 30,000 military personnel from Australia and the US, plus 19 partner nations including New Zealand, the UK, Japan, Papua New Guinea and France.
The activities will run from Sunday to August 4 in locations across Queensland, Western Australia, NSW, the Northern Territory and for the first time since the games began in 2005, Papua New Guinea.
'People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we'll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage,' he said. Chinese spy ships were spotted at the last Talisman Sabre exercises in 2023. Supplied/ Defence Credit: Supplied
Mr Conroy, who also holds the portfolio for defence industry and Pacific Island affairs, said the likely involvement of Chinese surveillance would also allow Australia and its allies to practice how to convey that information, and repeatedly stressed the ADF was ready.
'I think it'll be a two way process, but when we conduct these exercises, we're always cognisant that they're being observed by people who want to collect information about how we work with our allies, how we communicate with our allies and partners, and you manage that accordingly in a sensitive way,' he said.
'That's what the Australian people would expect our Australian Defence Force to do, and we'll continue to do that.
'But again, I'll say the Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017 and it'd be very unusual if they didn't do that this time.'
The question of China's presence at the significant war games comes as Anthony Albanese arrives in China for a six-day trip, in which he will need to balance Australia and China's $312bn economic trade relationship with recurrent geopolitical tensions.
This comes after Chinese warships were spotted circumnavigating Australia's exclusive economic zone in late March, and an incident in February in which commercial Virgin pilots alerted Defence of the Chinese navy conducting live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea. Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy said it would be 'unusual' for China not to spy on the Talisman Sabre events. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
While Foreign Minister Penny Wong reportedly raised the security issue with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi while in Malaysia on Friday, Mr Conroy would not confirm or deny whether the Prime Minister would do the same.
However he said the government has repeatedly and publicly raised concern of China's 'very significant' military build up, and reiterated calls for more transparency around its actions.
'We've been very clear, both publicly and privately, that we thought that China should have provided more notice about its live firing exercise,' he said.
'We normally give 12 to 24 hours notice before a live firing exercise, they gave notice, but we regarded that as insufficient. We'll continue to articulate and raise that, both publicly and privately.'
Mr Albanese touched down in Shanghai on Saturday evening and while the first leg of his trip will focus on promoting Australia's tourism links with China, he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he travels to Beijing.
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"The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program.
