Compared with other aspects of Australia-China relations，bilateral defence ties remain unheeded. This paper seeks to fill in the gap by examining the growing defence-to-defence relations between Australia and China. In particular，it tends to address a puzzling question：how should one explain Canberra’s persistent concerns about China’s expanding military power and strategic intensions，despite its decades-long defence engagement with Beijing？Answers to the question will clarify the nature and prospects of Australia-China defence relations and contribute to current debates concerning the utility and limitation of defence diplomacy as a confidence-building measure.