Albanese leaves APEC group-photo question open while restating support for Ukraine

Anthony Albanese has not ruled out joining a traditional leaders' photograph with Vladimir Putin at the coming APEC summit in China. Speaking in Manila on 15 November, the prime minister said he would consider the wishes of the host. He separately condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and said Australia continued to support Ukrainian sovereignty and international law. A possible group photograph should not be confused with a bilateral meeting or a change in that policy.

Albanese is attending regional summits in the Philippines before travelling to Shenzhen on Wednesday. Canada's Mark Carney has indicated he would take part in the photograph out of respect for China; other leaders' positions remain unsettled. Albanese played down the prospect of direct engagement with Putin, but said he would make Australia's view clear if they were in the same room.

The prime minister welcomed the prospect of discussions involving Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, saying dialogue should produce constructive results and reduce conflict. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has warned against a new division of spheres of influence, invoking the 1945 Yalta conference. Albanese said engagement with Washington and Beijing would continue alongside support for Ukraine, rather than replace it.

His Manila program also includes a new defence arrangement with the Philippines, regional maritime-security support and a visit to Australian sailors on HMAS Stalwart. Albanese said freedom-of-navigation activities would continue and described cooperation as support for sovereignty rather than action aimed at one country. He declined to conduct his planned discussion with Xi about the South China Sea through public statements.

At the ASEAN and East Asia meetings he also plans to seek a reduction in Middle East conflict and discuss AI governance. The United States is promoting its Pax Silica technology initiative, of which Australia is a member, while Albanese emphasises domestic safety rules and international regulation. Trump is expected at the East Asia and Quad summits on Tuesday.

Other issues in the Manila press conference included plans for 35 Jollibee stores in Australia over five years, with an estimated 900 jobs, and the case of Australian Tran Kip, detained in Vietnam on alleged terrorism charges. Albanese said he would raise the detention diplomatically. He also apologised for a private joking conversation with Chris Bowen being caught on a live microphone at COP 31. These were separate matters from the unresolved APEC photograph.