Prime Minister pushes back against China’s claim Japan fired sonar pulse that injured Australian navy divers

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong are pushing back against China’s claim that Japan fired the sonar pulse which injured two Australian navy divers in international waters.

China’s Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian accused Australia of falsely asserting China was responsible for harming the navy divers with a sonar pulse off Japan in November.

He told reporters in a rare media opportunity in Canberra on Wednesday that the divers would have been killed if China’s sonar technology had been deployed.

Mr Albanese said Australia still stood by the response it made at the time.

“I stand by the comments that we made. I’m not swayed by the comments. The Navy made reports,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday.

“I think it’s very clear what occurred. I stand by the comments that I made at the time, that it was wrong. It shouldn’t have occurred.”

Senator Wong said the Chinese Ambassador “advocates for his country — that’s his job”.

“What I would say about that incident is we stand by the assessments of the Australia Defence Force and the representations we made,” Senator Wong said.

Japan’s former Ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami said China’s accusation was a “classic example of evading responsibility and passing the language to a peace-loving and rules-abiding neighbour”.

“High time for wolf worriers to get the better understanding of (the) special strategic partnership between Japan and Australia,” he wrote on X.

Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson said China’s suggestion Japan was to blame for the incident was “utterly absurd”.

“It is ridiculous in the extreme to suggest that this was Japan,” Senator Paterson told Sky News.

He said he hoped the Albanese Government would rule out joint military exercises with China after Mr Qian said his country wanted to see the operations restarted.

“If they’re not even willing to admit that their own vessels deliberately engaged in conduct that caused harm to Australian Navy divers, then how on earth could we safely conduct a military exercise with them?” he asked.

“And I hope that the Albanese Government swiftly rules this out.”

Senator Paterson also urged the Foreign Minister to ensure Australia’s humanitarian aid funding for Gaza — to pay for civilian healthcare and childhood education — did not end up being misused by terrorists.

He said there were well-documented concerns with funding given to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees being siphoned off by Hamas.

Australia pledged $21.5 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza during Senator Wong’s week-long visit to the Middle East this week.

She met with Palestine Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki as she continues to push for peace in the region and said she raised her expectations with them.

“I expressed to them that it was extremely important, given the focus on this, that any funds Australia provides are used appropriately for the provision of the services that we are seeking to fund,” Senator Wong said.

“We wanted to make sure that there was appropriate transparency around that and work with them to ensure that that is the case.”

Senator Wong also held talks with Palestinian communities affected by Israeli settler violence, as she reaffirmed the Government’s position that West Bank settlements weren’t consistent with the “pathway to a two-state solution”.

She will also travel to the United Arab Emirates as part of her visit to the Middle East this week.