This comes after Hong Kong's leader announced on Tuesday that eight pro-democracy activists, including those living in the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia, would be pursued for life for alleged national security offenses.
Albanese expressed disappointment and concern over the arrest warrants issued for Australian citizen Kevin Yam and Australian permanent resident Ted Hui.
"I am of course disappointed. I've said we'll cooperate with China where we can. But we will disagree where we must. And we do disagree with China with these actions," Albanese stated in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The United States and the United Kingdom also criticized Hong Kong's move, particularly the extraterritorial application of the National Security Law.
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The U.S. government described it as a dangerous precedent that threatens human rights, while the UK stated that it will not tolerate China's attempts to intimidate and silence people overseas.
In response to the criticism, Hong Kong's leader, John Lee, emphasized that extraterritorial power exists in the security laws of many countries and that his government will not be swayed by comments from overseas officials and politicians.
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Albanese further expressed his disagreement with China regarding the detention of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who has yet to receive a verdict after standing trial in March last year on national security charges.
He criticized Cheng's detention, stating that she is being held "without proper process."
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"We continue to advocate for the interests of Australia. We'll continue to do so. We will disagree where we must. We will engage in our national interest.
And this decision overnight is an example of where Australia and China do have different approaches to these issues. And we'll stand up for our values," Albanese affirmed.
It is worth noting that Hong Kong police have acknowledged their inability to arrest the eight activists if they remain overseas.
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