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China’s fight to keep Darwin Port could help fragile Sino-Australian relations: analysts

Chinese multinational company Landbridge Group’s legal claim regarding Darwin Port – the first case ever brought against Australia at the international tribunal – is likely…

By Samantha Johnson / May 5, 2026
Chinese multinational company Landbridge Group’s legal claim regarding Darwin Port – the first case ever brought against Australia at the international tribunal – is likely to yield a multi-year proceeding, which could serve as a buffer to provide some positive impacts for the Australia-China relationship, analysts said.
The owner of Landbridge, Ye Cheng, filed a case with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investor Disputes (ICSID) requesting “arbitration proceedings” over Australia’s plan to take back control of Darwin Port, trade publication Global Arbitration Review said on April 30.

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Michael Feller, co-founder and chief strategist at consulting firm Geopolitical Strategy in Melbourne, said the case was likely to stall the ultimate outcomes for several years, which may suit Canberra if it meant a decision on a forced sale did not need to be made for a very long time.

Landbridge Group said in a statement on May 1 that it “has regrettably been unable to achieve a satisfactory outcome through dialogue alone” after efforts to reach a constructive resolution with the Australian government and was now taking “necessary steps” to protect its legal rights.

The first-ever ICSID claim against Australia is the latest development in a diplomatic row over the port, located in the country’s north where both the US and Australia are expanding air bases to host US bombers.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during his election campaign in January that Darwin Port, which was sold in 2015 to Landbridge Group for A$506 million (US$363 million), would go back into “Australian hands”, but China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said Beijing had “the obligation to take measures” to protect the legitimate rights of overseas Chinese companies.

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James Laurenceson, director and professor at the Australia-China Relations Institute with the University of Technology in Sydney, said that Landbridge’s request for arbitration itself “is not a bad one” for the Australia-China relationship.

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