Australia on Thursday rejected comments by China's ambassador seeking to deflect blame from China's navy for the injury of Australian military divers in an incident near Japan in November.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was "not swayed" by Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian's comment a day earlier that a Chinese navy ship didn't use its sonar while Australian divers were in the water, and a Japanese boat could have been the source.

Albanese said in November a Chinese warship acted in a dangerous manner by using its sonar during an incident with an Australian navy vessel in Japan's waters that injured military divers who were clearing fishing nets from its propellers, and the incident had damaged ties.

China has previously rejected Australia's description of the incident, and at an annual press briefing on Wednesday, Xiao said China "didn't initiate sonar", adding there was a Japanese navy boat nearby. "Whether there was sonar from the other party, we don't know," he told reporters.

Albanese said on Thursday, "I think it is very clear what occurred."

"I stand by the comments I made at the time, that it was wrong, that it shouldn't have occurred," he said in a media briefing.

Australia has said medical assessments found minor injuries to the divers involved were likely caused by the Chinese destroyer's sonar.

Japan's embassy in Australia said it didn't know what Xiao said.

"Generally speaking, however, Japan and Australia as the core of a partnership of like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region, unambiguously abide by the rule of law and have been promoting security cooperation across a wide range of areas," an embassy spokesman said in a statement.

Top Chinese diplomat says support of Pacific nations with policing should not alarm Australia

China's Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian speaks to media at China's embassy in Canberra, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. Xiao sought to reassure that China's increased involvement in the Pacific, particularly in policing efforts, should not be a cause of alarm for Australia. 

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, sought to reassure Wednesday that China’s increased involvement in the Pacific, particularly in policing efforts, should not be a cause of alarm for Australia.

Xiao, speaking at his first news conference of the year in Canberra on Wednesday, maintained that Australia should not harbor anxiety about China's intentions in the region.

“Pacific Islands countries is an area where China and Australia can cooperate and can contribute together instead of asking them to choose between the two," Xiao said. “What China has been doing is to help them to for their social stability, economic development and for bilateral trade relations."

Concerns of China’s encroachment in the South Pacific had escalated last year when the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China, raising fears of a military buildup in the region.

“We’re not seeking military strategies, we’re not seeking military purposes, and there’s no need for any so-called anxiety on the part of Australia,” Xiao said.

Addressing Nauru’s decision on Tuesday to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, Xiao said it was a sovereign choice by Nauru and would not impact Australia’s relations with the small island nation.

“The relation between China and Nauru is a reflection of the overwhelming, increasing consensus in the international community that in this world, there’s only one China, and Taiwan is part of China."

Regarding Australia-China relations, Xiao acknowledged that ties had stabilized after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing in November, marking the first by an Australian leader in seven years and the lifting of trade blocks imposed in 2020 on a raft of Australian exports.

He expressed China’s desire ‘to continue the good momentum’ in further improving the relationship, while also highlighting the need for collaboration in the defense sector.

“The defense relationship between our two countries is an area really we need to put more inputs and work harder on, Xiao said. ”This is an area it’s so important to the mutual trust and confidence between our two countries and two peoples. If you can have trust between two militaries, you do have real trust."

Xiao added that China had lodged a diplomatic protest with Australia over its congratulations to Taiwan, which China claims as its own, over the election of a new president.