China has no cause for concern over Australian efforts to bolster defence ties with other Southeast Asian nations, an ANU expert says.

For decades, Australia has conducted training courses for defence personnel from countries including Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, says Dr John Blaxland, an international security expert based at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in the ANU College of the Asia and the Pacific. 

It was a necessary part of Australia remaining engaged with the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he maintained.

A number of the students from ASEAN countries attend the Australian Command and Staff College at Weston Creek in Canberra.

Other activities involve small teams of Australian personnel travelling to Southeast Asia to conduct specialist training "to enhance understanding of the laws of armed conflict and to share hard-won expertise on countering improvised explosive devices," Blaxland, who served as Australia’s defence attaché to Thailand and Myanmar from 2008-2010, explains.

“It’s about seeking to engage with people who are influential in other countries at a senior level,” he added.

Bilateral training activities also gave Australia an opportunity to understand what foreign armed forces did, how they operated, and who some of their key people were.

“And hopefully for them to get to know us, but also to foster an awareness and understanding of some of the values and approaches that we have in Australia,” Blaxland said.

He was responding to a report by Australian freelance correspondent Michael Sainsbury, who posted a story this week on foreign minister Julie Bishop’s impending visit to China.

The meeting could be tense, Sainsbury warned, given China was ‘aggressively pressuring’ Vietnam and the Philippines in its ‘breathtaking’ claim for most of the South and East China Seas.

Along with Prime Minister Tony Abbott last week embracing Japan as Australia’s ‘best friend’ in the region, Sainsbury maintained Bishop ‘may have some explaining to do’ when she gets to Beijing on October 23, given China is in dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea.

Blaxland argued Australia’s defence engagement in Southeast Asia wasn’t something Bishop need apologise for; nor was it of concern to China.

“This is not an antagonistic stance towards any country. It is an inclusive, disarming measure by Australia, with a view to fostering mutual understanding and collaboration – the exact opposite of what was alluded to in (Sainsbury’s) article,” he said.

“No one is talking about going to war. These activities are about extending relations that are already robust.”

Blaxland believes the good intentions of Australia across ASEAN have enabled it to benefit from waves of migration – 2011 stats estimate those in Australia born or descended from Vietnam number almost 180,000.

“Conversely, in countries like Thailand for instance, the alumni of Australian universities and colleges are plentiful and strong, with frequent reunions and strong feelings of affinity towards Australia,” Blaxland added.

Bilateral education links with South-East Asian countries stretch back 60 years since the founding of the Colombo Plan in 1951.

“A considerable number of Australian graduates of this program have reached a wide range of senior and powerful positions across South-East Asia, providing Australia with unprecedented access,” Blaxland said.

“These activities are aimed at bolstering regional security and stability and are very much in Australia’s interests to maintain.”