Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has called on Beijing to act responsibly in the South China Sea and avoid mimicking Russia's "might is right" approach to diplomacy.

Key points: The Minister urged Beijing to respect international law to resolve territorial tensions

The Minister urged Beijing to respect international law to resolve territorial tensions He added that Canberra and other capitals were not intent on "containing" China

He added that Canberra and other capitals were not intent on "containing" China The Government will invest $90 billion in the Royal Australian Navy in the coming years

Delivering a keynote speech to military leaders in Singapore, Mr Pyne stressed that no country wanted to stifle China's growth and prosperity.

But he urged Beijing to rethink its approach to the politically-charged waters of the South China Sea, arguing the world power was eroding regional confidence and increasing anxiety, including with activities like building artificial islands in disputed waters.

"Resolving disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with international law would build confidence in China's willingness to support and champion a strategic culture that respects the rights of all states," Mr Pyne said.

"As the exhortation goes, to those that much is given, much is expected; similarly for nation states, for those with great power comes great responsibility, and so I call on China to act with great responsibility in the South China Sea."

The Minister pledged Australian support for multilateral activities in the South China Sea, if required, to remind Beijing they are international waters.

Before and after: South China Sea See how China is converting reefs to military facilities by building artificial islands in the South China Sea. Read more Read more

China is pitted against smaller neighbours in those waters that it claims almost in entirety.

While Australia is "not interested in containing China," it wants Indo-Pacific countries to not have to make "choices between economic gain and sovereignty," Mr Pyne said.

Mr Pyne described ongoing tensions between the United States and China as "the defining great power rivalry of our times".

However, he shrugged off suggestions of a potential cold war between the duelling world heavyweights.

"It's a simplistic and unsophisticated characterisation of what is a much more complex and dynamic geo-strategic paradigm," Mr Pyne said.

"Any division of the region into Cold War-like blocs is doomed to failure since it would necessitate false choices between prosperity and security."

While he did not directly name Russia, the Minister took a thinly-veiled swipe at its annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and referred to Vladimir Putin's Government as an oligarchy threatening the rule of law.

"It is under threat from oligarchies who think it is their birthright to simply annexe their neighbour at will," Mr Pyne said.

"It is under threat from countries who treat all of cyberspace like their own personal fiefdom, to do with as they will; to take what is not rightfully theirs."

Australia to play maritime catch-up

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The Commonwealth has earmarked over $90 billion for a new fleet of attack class submarines, frigates and other ships to strengthen Australian maritime capabilities.

But, when compared to the sheer size of a navy such as China's People's Liberation Army, Australia pales in comparison.

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The Australian fleet consists of 48 ships, boats and submarines compared to about 220 combat ships alone in the PLA Navy (China plans to increase this to 351 by 2020).

In an earlier interview with the ABC, Jai Galliott, leader of the Values in Defence & Security Technology Group within the University of New South Wales's School of Engineering and Information Technology at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said that "countries like Australia are always 10 to 30 years behind the US and certain European players".

"And even if Australia worked toward getting 80 decent ships, the PLA Navy's sheer size will be our main issue," Dr Galliott said.

Mr Pyne said the country hoped to grow its defence budget to over 2 per cent of its gross domestic product by 2021.

"Australia sees its role as one of being able to talk to both China and the United States openly and frankly," he said.

"We are clearly a very close ally of the United States … but we don't believe we need to choose between security and prosperity, and we haven't in the past and we don't intend to in the future."

Comments come amid detention of Yang Hengjun

Christopher Pyne was the first Australian Defence Minister to visit China in several years. ( Australian Department of Defence: Dan Sandoval )

The Defence Minister visited Beijing last week for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe.

Mr Pyne said consular access to Yang, a 53-year-old novelist and online commentator "has been granted".

He did not give further details on the matter but said Australia's relations with China were in a "positive shape".

AAP/ABC/AP