Australia's foreign minister said annual security talks with China could be launched next year, an apparent effort to ease Beijing's concerns that Canberra has shifted its defence policy to promote trilateral ties with the US and Japan, Peter Smith reports from Sydney.

Alexander Downer, speaking ahead of bilateral talks between the two countries, said: "Whatever differences there are between us in terms of our political systems, human rights issues and so on, China is . . a very, very important part of the strategic architecture, the security architecture, of the Asia Pacific region."