Labor National Conference: Richard Marles says China is Australia’s ‘largest security anxiety’

Richard Marles has characterised China as Australia’s “largest security anxiety” while arguing the government must continue engaging with Beijing despite ongoing strategic tensions.

Addressing the third and final day of Labor’s National Conference in Adelaide, the Defence Minister said Australia’s future security and success would depend on strengthening relationships across the Indo-Pacific and beyond, including with key partners such as India, Japan and the UK.

He also stressed the importance of maintain ties with China, describing the relationship as essential despite the challenges it presents.

“They are our largest trading partner, but they are also our largest security anxiety, and stabilising that relationship has been a significant achievement of our government, and we will continue to work with China where we can and disagree where we must,” he said.

“Of course, our most important relationship, the cornerstone of our foreign defence, our strategic policy, is our alliance with the United States.

“It has been in existence for decades... and it will be for decades to come, in the context of the past, and with the promise of the future”.

“Our job is to manage the present, and we do have a good relationship with this (Trump) administration, both in terms of delivering AUKUS, but actually more significantly in meeting our security obligations to each other as alliance partners.”

Meanwhile, Labor managed to tightly control the conference by ironing out an anticipated heated debate on the Middle East conflict.

While backbencher Ed Husic had agitated for an Israel-Palestine resolution which called for stronger language including “genocide”, the debate had been muted by Saturday morning when their chapter on foreign and defence policy kicked off.

Instead the party heard a statement by Labor’s Basem Abdo and Josh Burns, which had been the culmination of three months of work to clarify the party’s position.

But Mr Husic told reporters on Saturday he was “disappointed” that his efforts were quashed and “surprised” at what he described was an “extraordinary amount of energy that has been applied to stop this”.

Mr Husic said the seconder who had been slated to support his movement had pulled out overnight, only finding out this morning that the resolution wouldn’t stand up.

“Clearly today’s a big disappointment. It’s a big disappointment because we haven’t had a chance to talk to an issue,” he said.

“What was disappointing. Just see the resolution is not going to be argued for a conference. But one thing I’m really confident to say is that it has the personal support of the majority of delegates.”