Carr says sea exercise would be crazy

Australia launching freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea would be precisely the wrong call at a time of such sensitivity, former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr says.

Speaking from Beijing, Mr Carr said not even the US, which has conducted three such patrols, was saying that would be their response to the international court ruling denying China's claims to the South China Sea.

Labor defence spokesman Stephen Conroy thinks this should be Australia's response as demonstration of support for international law, though that's not opposition policy.

"Australia dashing off and launching patrols on our own, no other nation doing it, at a time of such sensitivity is precisely the wrong call," Mr Carr said on Sky News.

Should Australia do as suggested by Senator Conroy, Australia would be the only American friend, ally or partner in the world to run such patrols and it would look crazy, he said.

Mr Carr said the US hadn't asked us to conduct such an exercise.

"Nothing would cast us in the role of America's deputy sheriff more than us being the only American friend to do that. America hasn't asked us to do it," he said.