Australian Opposition’s Support for Beijing’s Pacific Ambitions Comes to Light

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Richard Marles addresses a media conference in the press gallery at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 7, 2020. Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Just months before Beijing signed a contentious security deal with the Solomon Islands, the Australian Labor Party’s deputy leader, Richard Marles, it has been revealed, advocated for the Chinese regime’s involvement in the Pacific.

The comments from Marles, who is the former parliamentary secretary for Pacific Islands Affairs, were unearthed by The Australian newspaper on April 22 and comes as the opposition centre-left Labor Party ramps up its attack on the governing centre-right Coalition for its handling of Pacific relations.