China’s defence chief has accused Australia of meddling in others’ affairs in the South China Sea.
China’s defence chief has accused Australia of meddling in others’ affairs in the South China Sea while claiming the United States and its allies were trying to hijack the Indo-Pacific region and target Beijing with exclusive blocs such as the Quad and AUKUS.
China warned Australia after the mid-air run-in to “act prudently” or face “serious consequences” for what it deemed threats to its sovereignty in the disputed waterway. Australian governments have expressed anxiety over the past six weeks in particular at the expansion of China’s influence in the South Pacific, most notably with the shock establishment of a security pact between Beijing and the Solomon Islands.
The same course of action would be taken, he reiterated, should an attempt be made to secure independence for Taiwan. The Taiwan question has lingered large in China-US relations in the past month in particular after US President Joe Biden proclaimed during a visit to Japan for a Quad meeting thatBut Austin has since walked back that stance and on Saturday restated that the American position on Taiwan – that it supports retention of the status quo – had not changed.