Australia, China hold 'professional' defense talks: Spokesperson
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The half-day talks were the latest sign that China and Australia are re-engaging after a diplomatic freeze.
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Australian and Chinese flags seen at the third China International Import Expo in Shanghai, China November 6, 2020 (Reuters)
China and Australia held defense talks focused on regional security issues, officials said on Thursday, just days after Beijing condemned Canberra's plan to deploy a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
An Australian defense spokesperson confirmed that Australian defense officials hosted a team from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for the discussions in Canberra on Wednesday.
The half-day talks were the latest sign that China and Australia are re-engaging after a diplomatic freeze.
China warned Australia, Britain, and the United States that they were walking "a path of error and danger" after their March 13 announcement of a long-term deal to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines armed with cruise missiles.
Australia plans to buy up to five US nuclear-powered submarines, then build a new model with US and British technology.
The decades-long deal has sparked debate about the cost -- hundreds of billions of dollars over three decades -- and the strategy of Australia binding its future defense to the United States and Britain.
Since coming to power in May last year, Australia's center-left Labor government has worked to repair relations with China.
Tensions between the two Pacific giants have eased with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong visiting Beijing for the first time in four years in December 2022.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, who spoke twice last year with China's General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of regional meetings, said he was pleased that "normal dialogue" had resumed but declined to give further details of the discussions.
On Sunday, Marles pointed out that Australia has made no promises to the United States that it would support it in any future conflict over Taiwan in exchange for the US nuclear-powered submarines.
According to the Australians, this week's talks -- "conducted in a professional atmosphere" -- were the first formal meeting of the two countries' defense officials since 2019.
In 2020, China suspended high-level diplomatic meetings and imposed hefty tariffs on key Australian exports at the height of a bitter dispute with the former conservative government.
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