Scott Morrison says Chinese interference in the Pacific is of ‘great consequence’, while Anthony Albanese says the region needs ‘competition, not catastrophe’.
was not a threat to Australia and differences in political systems were not an obstacle to improving ties between Canberra and Beijing.“You won’t be surprised to know that I don’t agree with the Chinese ambassador to Australia who is writing … today that Chinese government interference in the Pacific is of no consequence,” Mr Morrison said.
“They are more aggressive in the region. We need to, in the words of the Biden administration, have competition without catastrophe,” he said.Although Mr Xiao has sought to reboot the fractured diplomatic relationship with Australia, the rhetoric from officials at China’s Foreign and Defence ministries and in state-controlled media in the past month suggest that Beijing’s stance towards Australia is hardening rather than softening.
”Some people are indifferent to the real challenges and development needs faced by the Solomon Islands and other Pacific island countries, but they are keen to point fingers at the normal exchanges and co-operation between China and Solomon Islands. Obviously, they have ulterior motives,” an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.
”As the domestic political atmosphere in Australia has shifted sharply to the right in the past five years, playing up the China threat theory is conducive to winning the support of right-leaning voters in Australia, as well as the support of the US government,” Yu Lei, an academic at China’s Liaocheng University told theChina’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday refused to comment on reports Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi would visit Solomon Islands following the signing of the security pact,...
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