KEVIN Rudd was rejecting the advice of the Australian intelligence agencies when he warned the US of the need to step up the containment of China, including by military means.

The then prime minister's reported comments in a WikiLeaks cable indicate that his personal beliefs on China were the driving force behind the 2009 defence white paper, which called for the most dramatic build-up of naval power since World War II.

The Australian and US governments have been embarrassed by the confidential cable in which Mr Rudd warned the US in March last year the world must be prepared to "deploy force" if China could not be integrated into the international system.

The leaked cable, written by a US diplomat on March 28 last year after a meeting in Washington between Mr Rudd and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, confirms Mr Rudd's hawkish view of China's military expansion.

The cable stated that at the meeting Mr Rudd had "indicated the forthcoming Australian defence white paper's focus on naval capability is a response to

China's growing ability to project force".

Less than two months after Mr Rudd's comments, a new defence white paper called for a doubling of the submarine fleet from six to 12, as well as three powerful new air warfare destroyers and eight new larger frigates.

Mr Rudd's hawkish comments are at odds with the advice he was receiving at that time from the Defence Intelligence Organisation and the prime minister's own intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments.

As The Australian revealed in April last year, both these spy agencies had given the Rudd government advice that played down the risk of conventional war with China, saying Beijing's military build-up was largely a defensive response to the perceived threat of US naval power in the Pacific.

This, coupled with a desire to have a military force commensurate with its status as an emerging global power, was the driver of China's military spending rather than any hegemonic expansionist ambitions, the agencies argued.

However, this view was strongly opposed by hawks in the Defence Department, who eventually received Mr Rudd's personal backing for an expanded navy to help contain China.

"This (leaked US document) makes it clear that the white paper was primarily directed at China," Liberal senator Russell Trood said last night.

"It's too bad the prime minister at the time was not prepared to be as frank and candid with the Australian people as he was with the US Secretary of State."

Mr Rudd yesterday refused to comment on either the content or accuracy of any of the WikiLeaks documents.

However, he admitted that Australia's relationship with China was strong.

"It's a robust relationship, and diplomacy is a robust business."