Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned about the rising risk of conflict in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait unless the region adopts new diplomatic and legal safeguards.
She was speaking ahead of today's opening of the ASEAN summit in Melbourne when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host nine South-East Asian leaders.
While the summit agenda will focus largely on economic matters, Australia is also concerned about security issues, such as China's militarisation of the South China Sea.
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"We know that a major conflict in our region would be devastating to our communities and economies, as the terrible conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine have shown," Wong said.
China rejected a 2016 ruling by an international court that dismissed its claims to large parts of the disputed waters.
There has since been an increase in the South China Sea between China and other countries with territorial claims, such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
China has also built military bases on artificial islands in the sea.
Wong warned of the risk of potential conflict, but did not refer directly to Beijing.
"We see claims and actions that are inconsistent with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); the legal order for the seas and oceans," she said.
"We face destabilising, provocative and coercive actions, including unsafe conduct at sea and in the air and militarisation of disputed features.
"We know that military power is expanding, but measures to constrain military conflict are not – and there are few concrete mechanisms for averting it.
"These factors give rise to the most confronting circumstances in our region in decades."
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Wong announced that Australia would contribute $64 million to fund maritime security in the region.
Meanwhile, Albanese is set today to announce Australia will pledge $2 billion investment fund for green energy projects in South East Asia when the ASEAN summit opens in Melbourne.
