Australia's Payne: Australia has no intention of injuring its relationship with China

"Australia's relationship with China is important and it has no intention of injuring it," said Marise Payne, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday. Payne, however, reiterated that they will not do things contrary to Canberra's interests.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US commends Australian government for standing up to China. "We will keep working with partners to reassert the rule of law in the South China Sea," Pompeo added.

Market reaction

The AUD/USD pair edged slightly higher in the last minutes and was last seen gaining 0.27% on the day at 0.7168.