Australia should warn the Chinese the Americans “aren’t going away” when it comes to the dispute over the South China Sea, former ambassador to the US Kim Beazley believes.

Mr Beazley says it’s time for the Chinese to understand the US is capable of creating an “urgent” situation and won’t run away from the territorial dispute.

“We’re always talking about us understanding the Chinese, now the time has come for the Chinese to understand the United States,” he told a conference on defence strategy in Canberra on Thursday.

“Every step that is taken that militarises the area creates a much higher level of risk.”

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