Albanese-Li meeting not all peaches and cream

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he and Chinese Premier Li Qiang discussed improving military-to-military communications to avoid future incidents involving their armed forces in their wide-ranging meeting on Monday.

This follows an encounter last year in which Australian Navy divers were targeted with sonar and one this year when flares were dropped on an Australian Navy helicopter. Albanese had flagged beforehand that he would raise the encounters in his talks with Li.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Albanese said he had already spoken with Defense Minister Richard Marles, who was in the talks, about taking this forward.

The prime minister did not give more specifics. “It literally came out of a meeting that was hours ago. That was part of the dialogue.”

The statement on the meeting’s outcomes said the leaders agreed to continue or expand engagement in, among other areas, “defense coordination dialogue.”

Among other contentious issues discussed were Chinese foreign interference in Australia and the situation of Australian national Yang Hengjun, incarcerated in China for alleged spying, which he denies.

Chinese officials block camera views of Cheng Lei

Earlier, when Albanese and Li were together at the signing of bilateral agreements, Chinese officials actively tried to block Australian journalist Cheng Lei – who was released from a lengthy detention in China last year – from being in camera view. The interference continued even after she moved seats.

Albanese told his news conference, which Cheng Lei (a Sky News presenter) attended, the two had exchanged smiles during the event but “I’m not aware of those issues.”

“It’s important that people be allowed to participate fully and that’s what