Defence Minister Marise Payne has defended Julie Bishop after China issued a formal protest over the foreign minister's comments on an international court ruling on the South China Sea.
Senator Payne insists the Australian government's position on the dispute has remained consistent and Ms Bishop's comments in the wake of the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague should have come as "no surprise" to China.
China has rejected the ruling in favour of the Philippines, which found China had no historical title over the waters.
Following Tuesday's decision, Ms Bishop warned ignoring the ruling would damage China's reputation.
"To ignore it would be a serious international transgression," she said.
She also insisted Australia would keep exercising its international rights to freedom of navigation and overflight, and support the right of others to do the same.
China has taken issue with Ms Bishop's "wrong remarks".
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang says he hopes Australia does nothing to harm regional peace and stability.
Australia should join most of the international community in not taking the result of the "illegal outcome" of the case as international law, he said.
"Honestly speaking, I'm a bit shocked at Bishop's comments," Mr Lu said.
"We hope that Australia can set more store by international law, and not treat it as a game," he said, repeating that China respected freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law.
Senator Payne said the overwhelming majority of observers regarded the ruling as binding.
"We call on the parties who are involved in that particular negotiation to abide by it," she told ABC radio on Friday.
"We regard it as final."
She would not comment on when or where freedom of navigation exercises by the Australian Defence Force might be conducted.
Ms Bishop has issued a statement saying, "Peace, stability and continued prosperity in East Asia requires the preservation of an order defined by rule of law for both great and smaller powers."
China claims much of the South China Sea, through which more than $US5 trillion ($A6.6 trillion) of trade moves annually.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
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