Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese forcefully condemned the “unsafe and destabilizing behavior” by China in the South China Sea this week, standing up to Beijing’s bullying tactics toward smaller nations.

Albanese’s strong rebuke came after Chinese coast guard vessels recklessly collided with Philippine ships near disputed territory on Tuesday, injuring four Filipino crew members. This brazen act of maritime aggression cannot be tolerated.

While the toothless Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit failed to directly criticize China over this latest provocation, the Australian leader refused to stay silent on threats to regional peace and stability.

“It is dangerous and it creates risks of miscalculation, which can then lead to escalation,” Albanese rightly warned, highlighting how Beijing’s belligerence could easily spark wider conflict.

For too long, ASEAN members paralyzed by internal divisions have enabled China’s salami-slicing territorial grabs through meek statements urging mere “dialogue.” Democracies like Australia and the Philippines cannot tolerate Beijing trampling on international laws and norms.

Canberra had advocated for the ASEAN declaration to explicitly uphold the 2016 Hague ruling that invalidated China’s outrageous maritime claims in the South China Sea. But the final watered-down text omitted any mention, likely kowtowing to Chinese client states like Cambodia.

Still, the Australian PM stood firm, making clear “we need to make sure that activity in the South China Sea alleviates any tension and doesn’t add to it.” Signaling his demands for responsible behavior from Beijing.

This latest incident underscores the threat posed by an increasingly belligerent China determined to control vital global shipping lanes through intimidation and force. Democracies must jointly push back against such flagrant revisionism.

Australia is admirably stepping up as a principal counterweight to Beijing’s neo-imperial ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. Allies should echo Canberra’s resolute stance defending a rules-based maritime order and sovereignty of smaller nations against outrageous bullying by China’s budding maritime militia.