Canberra says ‘sturdy regulatory system’ in place to handle dangers to Port Darwin and different infrastructure.Australia’s authorities has decided that it’s not essential to cancel a Chinese language firm’s lease of a serious port following a nationwide safety evaluate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s workplace mentioned on Friday that the evaluate discovered there was a “sturdy regulatory system” in place to handle dangers to Port Darwin and different important infrastructure and that “present monitoring mechanisms are ample and shall be ongoing”.
“Australians can trust that their security won’t be compromised, whereas making certain that Australia stays a aggressive vacation spot for overseas funding,” the Division of the Prime Minister and Cupboard mentioned in a press release.
Chinese language-owned Landbridge was awarded a 99-year lease of the port in 2015 in a deal price 506 million Australian {dollars} ($390m).
The deal got here beneath scrutiny in recent times amid rising concern over China’s growing affect within the area and a shift in Australia’s defence posture in direction of long-range deterrence.
Albanese’s centre-left authorities launched its evaluate of the lease after coming to energy final yr after an earlier evaluate beneath the earlier conservative authorities discovered no trigger to cancel the settlement.
Friday’s announcement comes amid indicators of a diplomatic thaw between Canberra and Beijing, which had been at loggerheads over points together with alleged interference in Australian democracy and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing has eased a variety of punitive commerce measures on Australian imports and earlier this month launched Australian journalist Cheng Lei after three years in detention.
Albanese is anticipated to go to China earlier than the tip of the yr, which might be the primary journey by an Australian chief to the nation since 2016.