The ABC managing director says public broadcasters in the Pacific have raised concerns about Chinese government pressure to carry state-owned (controlled) news content.
David Anderson told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday the ABC is planning to expand its operations in the Pacific and play a greater "soft diplomacy" role, as China increases its influence in the region.
"For the ABC to have an expanded presence there is important particularly with concerns, frankly, over the Chinese government," Mr Anderson told the committee.
Mr Anderson said the ABC has been working with public broadcasters in the region through a partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Several media experts have noticed an increase in Chinese media content in the Pacific, coinciding with a gradual decline in Australian output.
The ABC previously broadcast news bulletins into 46 nations including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea through the DFAT funded Australia Network.
The service was closed in 2014 after federal budget cuts, but retained an international TV service now called ABC Australia.
The network was created to facilitate "soft diplomacy" and improve understandings of Australia. But it was criticised by Coalition figures including former foreign minister Julie Bishop, who questioned whether it was effectively promoting Australia's interests.
When the ABC switched off its shortwave radio transmissions in the Pacific in 2017, the frequencies were slowly taken over by China Radio International, the country's state-owned overseas broadcaster.
During the same year, Chinese President Xi Jinping expanded the state-owned China Global Television Network and urged it to "make the voice of China heard".
"The relationship between China and the rest of the world is undergoing historic changes," President Xi said at the time.
"China needs to know better about the world and the world needs to know better about China."
An Australian National University (ANU) study found that between August 2016 and September 2020, Chinese ambassadors published 92 articles in newspapers in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu the Federated States of Micronesia.
"All were clearly labelled as authored by the Chinese ambassador or provided by the Chinese embassy," the report said.
"As the geostrategic competition between China and [Pacific Island Communities] traditional partners intensifies, it is likely that countries will consider how to compete for the power of influencing the discourse."
The ABC continues to broadcast in the Pacific region, but at a smaller scale than in previous years.
Mr Anderson said the ABC is currently lobbying the federal government for an additional $12 million to support the expansion and spoke of the importance of an increased presence.
"There is intergenerational trust both with the ABC and the Australian government – whoever the Australian government is on the day – and that has been built up over many years," Mr Anderson said.
"It was once called soft diplomacy, but I think having the ABC would be an important step forward."
