Democratic nations across the world are beginning to “rally together” against China after its leadership increasingly starts to isolate itself, according to former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer.
It comes as two Australian journalists were rushed back from China to Sydney after officials in Beijing raised concerns over their safety. The ABC’s Bill Birtles and the Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith were told by Australian officials to return home, but before they could Chinese security officers visited their homes wanting to talk regarding the Cheng Lei investigation.
Mr Downer told Sky News host Chris Kenny this is emblematic of a “huge change” in the way China is engaging foreign nations. “It has decided it’s going to be cutting itself off diplomatically from the rest of the world through behaving like this,” he said. “Let them – as time goes by – work out that this kind of diplomacy is just never going to advance China’s national interest.
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