Australia election 2022: Peter Dutton claims Penny Wong would appease her 'dear friend' Xi Jinping

Peter Dutton has claimed Penny Wong would launch a “charm offensive” with her “dear friend”, Chinese President Xi Jinping, if Labor comes to power.

The defense secretary made his comments in a debate against Labor Party defense spokesman Brendan O’Connor at the National Press Club on Thursday.

Senator Wong, the Labor Party’s foreign policy spokesman, has repeatedly criticized Mr Dutton for his harsh rhetoric towards China in recent months, including accusing him of “increasing the prospect of war” by promising that Australia would work to protect Taiwan would fight.

In Parliament earlier this year, Mr Dutton claimed China wants Labor to win the May 21 election and even referred to Labor Deputy Leader Richard Marles as a “Manchurian candidate”, a term used to describe a politician , working for an enemy.

When asked to explain these remarks, Mr Dutton claimed Senator Wong’s “language” was evidence that Labor was placating China.

He said: “Penny Wong believes she could go to Beijing in a charm offensive and change the direction of China under President Xi.

“President Xi would of course chuckle while entertaining his dear friend in Beijing.”

Mr O’Connor dismissed Mr Dutton’s claim as a “conspiracy theory” and insisted Labor had the same approach as the Government on China.

“We know that China has changed. We know it is now more assertive, aggressive and compelling.

“And indeed, Penny Wong, who was just verbalized by Peter, made that clear in posts last year outlining the significant changes that have taken place in the region,” he said.

Mr Dutton’s inflammatory comment comes after he said in an Anzac Day interview that Australia must “prepare for war” to keep the peace.

He said the best way to deal with Russia and China is to “stand up and stare down every act of aggression.”

“The only way to keep the peace is to prepare for war and to be strong as a country. Don’t crouch, don’t get on your knees and be weak. That’s the reality,’ he said the today show.

“Curling up in a ball, pretending nothing is happening, saying nothing – it’s not going to be in our long-term interest and we should be honest.

“I just think that’s the lesson of history.”

Mr Dutton compared Russian President Vladimir Putin – who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 – to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

“We have to be realistic that people like Hitler and others aren’t just a pipe dream or succumbed to history,” he said.

“Right now we have someone in President Putin who is willing to kill women and children, and that will happen in 2022.

“It’s a partial repeat of what happened in the 1930s.”

Mr Dutton also warned that China was increasingly determined to project power beyond its shores.

“The Chinese are on a very conscious course by their actions and words right now,” he said.

“We must stand up to countries to crush any act of aggression to ensure we can keep the peace in our region and for our country.”

Since President Xi Jinping came to power, and particularly in recent years, Beijing has pursued an increasingly assertive foreign policy.

China has stepped up territorial claims in the South China Sea, killed Indian troops in the Himalayas and frequently flown warplanes over Taiwan.

Labor Deputy Leader Richard Marles said Mr Dutton was all about words and not action to protect Australia.

“This is a government that has failed repeatedly, as it has done in managing relations in the Pacific, as it has done in relation to Darwin Port,” he said.