John Howard warns Taiwan 'ambiguity' must be preserved, calls for repeal of 'silly' nuclear ban

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week stood alongside US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to reveal an ambitious deal, worth up to $368 billion, to acquire nuclear-powered submarines over the next two decades.

The leaders said the deal would bridge the capability gap and work as a deterrent amid a period of contest and competition within the Indo-Pacific.

Mr Howard, who is Australia's second longest-serving leader, described the technology-sharing pact as "just what is needed for our security" but downplayed concerns the announcement has further agitated China during tense times.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week, with the Chinese leader praising Mr Putin for his strong leadership.

But in an appearance at the Australian Cyber Conference in Canberra on Tuesday, Mr Howard said Russia's experience regarding its invasion of Ukraine might give China pause to think over its own ambitions with Taiwan.

Asked whether he shared views that conflict was inevitable, as have been controversially canvassed in recent media reports, Mr Howard said it was crucial to maintain peace with China over the "red line" issue of Taiwan.

"My view is that Taiwan and China - I know in diplomatic and in real terms, they're separate countries - but I think if we want to preserve the peace, we should preserve the ambiguity that existed in our attitude to those two countries," he said in response to questions after delivering his keynote speech.

"This idea that we've somehow rather got to bring it to a head is a silly idea.

"We've kept the peace for 70 years, and the aim should be to maintain it."

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Mr Howard, who has previously called for playing a "long game" with China during Mr Xi's reign, acknowledged the situation had changed in recent years.

He recalled former presidents, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, as having a different attitude.

"They were both communist dictators, they were both authoritarian ... their regimes poorly treated the Muslim Uyghurs and others, but they were more friendly towards the rest of the world," he told the audience.

"Xi Jinping is different. He is more aggressive. He is ... far more assertive of Chinese power internationally than his two predecessors were so we can't pretend the world hasn't changed."

The former prime minister said it was time for Australians to reconsider whether nuclear power could be used as an energy solution in the race to limit climate change impacts.

Mr Howard said Labor had previously been ideologically opposed to it but saw the AUKUS bipartisanship as an opportunity for discussions.

"I think we should repeal the ban on having a nuclear industry and I think we should have nuclear power as one of the climate change considerations," he said.

"I think it's time, in the name of all this bipartisanship we have in the present time, for Mr Albanese to pick up the phone to Peter Dutton and say, 'Look, Peter, let's forget the past, why don't we get rid of this silly ban on nuclear power?'"

Cracks within the Labor government over support for the AUKUS agreement are showing.

Western Australian MP Josh Wilson broke ranks on Monday night, saying he is not convinced about the deal and is concerned about delays, timeframes and nuclear waste.

"We haven't yet managed a storage solution for low-level waste after 40 years and more than $50 million," he told the lower house.

"We haven't yet commenced a proper process for the storage of intermediate-level waste. Now we are taking on the challenge of safely disposing of high-level waste - a problem no country has solved."

During a Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday, three Labor MPs raised questions about the issue of sovereignty, cost and workforce.