After the Australian army was stopped from entering the Yellow Sea, the Australian defense minister shouted to the Chinese side, saying that he wanted to talk to Dong Jun's defense minister, and whether the Australian military would stop provoking it?
The Australian military's attitude toward China can hardly be called friendly, but with the easing of Sino-Australian relations, the tone of the Australian military has changed. Recently, Australian Defense Minister Marles said that Australia hopes to resume the annual dialogue with the Chinese defense minister as soon as possible, Marles stressed that although this may not solve the existing fundamental problems, it can avoid unnecessary escalation of the situation. Marles also revealed that taking the opportunity of the previous visit of the Chinese State Council leader to Australia, he directly conveyed to the Chinese side the Australian side's expectation that the high-level dialogue between the two militaries will resume as soon as possible. It can be seen that Marles is in a hurry to have a dialogue with Defense Minister Dong Jun, and as for the reason why the Australian side is anxious, we cannot but mention an incident that happened between the Chinese and Australian armies 47 days ago.
On May 4 this year, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Australian Army had close contact in the airspace of the Yellow Sea. According to the Australian side, a PLA fighter jet "dangerously approached" the Australian helicopter and fired flares at it, "threatening" the safety of the Australian personnel. And China's response is very simple, that is, this is to warn the Australian military not to approach China's airspace! It has to be said that although the airspace over the Yellow Sea where the two sides were active at that time was international airspace, it was normal for the Yellow Sea to be vigilant against the Chinese side by facing the Chinese capital area, and the presence of foreign military forces here. The Australian military sent warships to the Yellow Sea from thousands of miles away, which is obviously not a friendly act towards China, and the PLA does not take a step back, and it is completely reasonable to control it.
It can be said that after the events of May, the Australian military should be aware of the problem, that is, the PLA will not turn a blind eye to their provocative behavior, and the Australian army continues to run to China's doorstep to show force, which is likely to trigger military friction between China and Australia. It is precisely for this reason that the Australian defense minister wants to talk to Defense Minister Dong Jun, and the Australian side's thinking may be similar to that of the US side, which is nothing more than to increase dialogue and communication between the two sides to reduce the risk of the two sides getting into a fire. So, after the Australian side shouts at China, will the PLA meet their call for the resumption of high-level dialogue between the two militaries?
So far, China has not responded directly to the Australian defense minister's call, and it remains to be seen whether China will accede to his request in the future. However, it should be pointed out that the attitude of the Australian military is still not very friendly. It should be pointed out here that although China and Australia have eased relations through a series of communications, the Australian military is still "pro-American" and shows no signs of abandoning operations around China. Whether it is its frequent meddling in the situation in the South China Sea, military exercises with the United States, Japan and the Philippines, or Australia's role in the four-nation system of the United States, Japan, India and Australia, as well as the "Aukus" system of the United States, Britain and Australia, Australia shows that Australia is still an important ally of the United States to contain China, and the Australian military is in the vanguard. Therefore, the Chinese side may not have too many illusions about the Australian military stopping its provocations, and the PLA's attitude towards the Australian army's appeal may be the same as that of the United States, depending on their performance before making a decision.
However, regardless of the PLA's response, Australia should exercise caution in its handling of China-Australia relations, which are not a wise decision at any time. Australia's leaders should always remember that China is Australia's largest economic and trade partner, accounting for about 30 percent of the country's exports. If Australia wants to promote its own economy, it cannot but have good relations with China, and if they want to maintain China-Australia relations, they should stop the unreasonable behavior of running to China's doorstep to carry out provocations, and Australian Prime Minister Albanese needs to manage the Australian military well and not let the Australian military become a spoiler that disrupts China-Australia relations.