CANBERRA—Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd will use his visit to China beginning Sunday to press for greater military transparency in the region, even as he seeks to soothe tensions with his country’s biggest trading partner.

“One of the matters which I think is in the region’s common interest in the future is for us to have greater regional transparency of military budgeting, greater transparency of military exercising, greater transparency of military maneuvers,” said Mr. Rudd, Australia’s former prime minister, in an interview ahead of his first official visit to China since being named foreign minister in September.

A report by Australia’s Defense Department this week warned that sustained investment by China to bulk up its defense capabilities is shifting the balance of military power in Asia. The department estimated Beijing spent more than US$150 billion last year on its military, more than double the official Chinese figure. The report also said that in disputed territories such as the South China Sea and waters close to Japan, China is patrolling with “increased frequency and greater strength.”

In contrast, traditional allies, such as the U.S. and Europe, are facing defense cutbacks as the global downturn and high levels of sovereign debt put the squeeze on budgets. To counter China’s build up, Australia has a nearly A$8 billion (US$7.79 billion) program under way to strengthen its navy, including construction of a fleet of air-warfare destroyers and a plan to build 12 new submarines.

“We have a proud tradition of defending our territorial integrity and maintaining our sovereignty. Part and parcel of that price is to make sure we have a robust set of defense assets ourselves,” Mr. Rudd said Friday.

China’s military buildup will likely be on the agenda when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—who is also on a trip in the region—and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates hold high-level defense talks with Australian officials at annual bilateral talks in Melbourne next month.

But the 53-year-old Mr. Rudd will seek to temper military talk in China with efforts to smooth any lingering tensions between the two countries. He will meet with Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Beijing Wednesday after going to Shanghai on Sunday for the close of the Shanghai Expo. Mr. Rudd also plans to travel to Seoul on Tuesday to meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan.

Australia and China have “enormous interests in common” that help cement their relationship, he said, notably the benefits both countries derive from their substantial trade in energy and resources.

“We need to, in our engagement with China, not slip into these sterile binaries of being pro-China or anti-China,” said Mr. Rudd, a former diplomat to China who speaks fluent Mandarin.

Mr. Rudd is keen to portray Australia’s relationship with China in terms of zhengyou, the Mandarin word for a friend who gives honest advice, rather than being perceived as a proxy for U.S. interests with Beijing. Australia has “never sought a role as any sort of a bridge” with China, Mr. Rudd said.

The visit comes a week before Mrs. Clinton touches down in Australia as part of an Asia-Pacific tour in which she also will visit China, in part to seek clarity on China’s policy on key raw materials called rare-earth metals. China earlier this year curtailed export quotas, citing the environmental hazards mining rare earths have caused, as well as efforts to quell smuggling, and the effects began to be felt in recent months. The metals are used by high-tech companies and auto makers, and also are used in military equipment.

Last year, Canberra blocked plans by China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co. to invest A$252 million in Lynas Corp., an Australian miner of rare-earth metals. Australian regulators squelched other proposed China purchases in Australia, citing national interest.

China is increasingly dependent on Australia’s vast reserves of coal and ore to fuel factories, and has overtaken Japan as the country’s biggest trade partner, with total trade expected to exceed A$100 billion this year. But Canberra butted heads with Beijing over the trial and conviction in March of former Rio Tinto executive and Australian citizen Stern Hu, on charges of commercial bribery. The visit to Australia last year by exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer and confusion over Australia’s stance on Chinese investment in its mining sector also rankled Beijing.

—Jay Solomon contributed to this article.
Write to Rachel Pannett at [email protected]

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