THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH GARY ADSHEAD, ABC PERTH DRIVE

FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2025

Topics: Chinese warships conducting live firing exercises off the coast of Australia

GARY ADSHEAD: We spoke to him yesterday but certainly things have developed in the past 24 hours. Andrew Hastie is the Shadow Defence Spokesperson for the Coalition, and he joins me know. What do you make of it, Andrew?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well Gary, the question I have is: does the Prime Minister have any limits for the Chinese military? We've seen them sail through the Coral Sea, very significant to Australian history, obviously. They've sailed past Sydney, and now they're imposing themselves on our commercial flight paths. This is gunboat diplomacy. And the question for the Prime Minister is, where does he draw the line? When is he going to stand up and insist on mutual respect from the Chinese government here? Because let's be clear, this is gunboat diplomacy. They are testing US allies in the region, particularly when we're seeing what's happening in Europe. They've done it with the Philippines last week, and now they're doing it with Australia, and we want to see strength, and what we're getting from this Prime Minister is weakness.

GARY ADSHEAD: So you heard the Defence Minister say that representations have now been made, both in Canberra and to Beijing. And of course, Penny Wong will have the opportunity to sit down with her foreign ministry counterpart from China tonight, as it happens. Isn't that enough?

ANDREW HASTIE:  Well, what level has the representation been made? Is it to the Defence attaché in the embassy? Some, you know, half Colonel, full Colonel? We're talking political representation here from the highest levels. This is where the Prime Minister picks up the phone and says, let's have a relationship with mutual respect, which means this stuff has to stop. When our RAAF fly through the Indo-Pacific region, no more firing chaff or flares at them. When our divers are in the water no more sonar pulses, as had happened 18 months ago. These are the sorts of things that Anthony Albanese has to lead on, and he's not, and that's why we're calling him out for this weakness.

GARY ADSHEAD: And just from your perspective, the fact that a notification, and you know, that's hard to pin down, but from what we can tell there was certainly a notification delivered by the Chinese military to an Emirates flight flying from Sydney to Christchurch at around 11am this morning, that there would be live firing and they should avoid the area. How dramatic is that in your mind?

ANDREW HASTIE: That's pretty significant. I mean, if you're going to do live fire exercises, you need to have a lead time of at least 48 hours or so. You need a range trace so people know that they shouldn't enter a certain airspace or the waters around the vessels that are going to be firing. So this is a flex on Australia. This is the Chinese warships imposing themselves on our commercial airspace, and that's why I come back to that question for the Prime Minister, where's his limit? Why is he being weak about this? Why isn't he picking up the phone and making representations on behalf of the Australian people and our national interests?

GARY ADSHEAD: I asked what representation level was made. Should the only representation be: please desist from live firing and leave the area. Is that a fair request of the Chinese warships?

ANDREW HASTIE: I think it is a very fair request. And I think it's also picking up the phone and saying: ‘You talk a lot about mutual respect, well, where's the mutual respect for Australia?’ Where is that mutual respect? And I think, you know, the Chinese respect strength. Every single person I've ever met from China has always insisted on strength in the relationship, and I think that's what we've got to see from our Prime Minister. And unfortunately, he's being weak. And China is now a global power with a blue water Navy, and they are testing US allies like us.

GARY ADSHEAD: All right. Andrew Hastie, thanks very much for joining us.

ANDREW HASTIE: Thank you.

[ENDS]