Calls for Australia to help smooth tensions with China

Senior Australian ministers will meet with their Singapore counterparts as the Asian nation's foreign minister warns of the potential for catastrophic conflict.

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has warned that the United States and China created a "dysfunctional relationship", saying Asian nations did not want to be drawn into choosing sides.

"Countries in Southeast Asia feel this impact of dysfunctional relations between the two biggest superpowers," he said during a keynote address on Monday.

Mr Balakrishnan says Australia has a role to play in cooling tensions in the region by building "strategic trust".

"Trust is not something you can conjure. It takes time, it takes history. You need to have mutual respect," he said.

"Australia can play a role in stabilising our region. Australia has many unique strengths."

Mr Balakrishnan said the US and China were struggling to make progress and the economic benefits in the region were being overshadowed by security concerns.

He said Taiwan was the greatest flashpoint for conflict, with it being "the reddest of red lines" for China.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell will host their counterparts on Monday in Canberra for a bilateral meeting.

This year coincides with the 20th anniversary of Australia and the tiny Asian country striking a free trade agreement.

In a joint statement, the Australian ministers said the biennial committee meetings were an important platform to discuss co-operation across defence and security, strategic, trade and investment interests, the energy transition and food security.

"Australia and Singapore have a deep and abiding defence relationship. We are proud to count Singapore as one of our closest partners," Mr Marles said in a statement.

"I look forward to discussing ways we can continue to build on our great friendship, as part of our shared contribution to the collective security and prosperity of the region."

Australia's defence pact with the US and United Kingdom to supply it nuclear-powered submarines prompted China, Malaysia and Indonesia to voice concerns when signed by the previous coalition government in 2021.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong later welcomed Australia's assurance that the AUKUS deal was aimed at promoting a "stable and secure" Asia-Pacific.

A declassified review last week prompted the government to commit to "reshape" the armed forces to prepare Australia for any conflicts over the next three decades.

China's rapid military build-up, the decline of the US as a unipolar power in the Indo-Pacific, nuclear war, climate change, workforce issues and increasing cyber attacks were all identified as security threats.

The Singaporean prime minister also warned about the consequences of a decoupling between the US and China's economic relationship when he was in Canberra last year. 

He expressed his concerns that nations being at loggerheads over national security could trigger further consequences that would result in less economic co-operation, less trust and less stability.