Australia: Marles outlines a 'change of tone' towards China
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The Australian Government has moved to dissuade China from making aggressive moves to seize Taiwan in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China’s Xi Jinping has made increasingly belligerent comments regarding the sovereignty of the self-governing island which Xi believes should be forced to unify with mainland China. Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese has come under fire over remarks aimed at China during the NATO summit in Madrid.
Sky News Political Reporter Trudy McIntosh said: “Beijing has long bristled at suggestions that there’s a link between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a potential move on Taiwan.
“On the sidelines of the talks in Madrid, Anthony Albanese warned China must heed the lessons of Russia’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine.
“In a state-sponsored editorial in the China Daily newspaper, Beijing labelled that comment ignorant and ill-informed.
“It added quote, ‘while Mr Albanese might talk of wanting to improve his country’s relations with China, he is either going to have to make dedicated efforts to better understand the issues that have led to bilateral ties deteriorating precipitously or be more diplomatically astute.'”
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When pressed on Australia’s China policy, acting Prime Minister Richard Miles said: “Australia will continue to stand up for democratic values.”
Asked if the new Australian Government was considering any concessions in order to reset relations with China, he added: “No, absolutely not, and that and that’s really the point I’m making.
“A change of tone, yes.
“But we’re not about to walk away from any of Australia’s national interests, in fact, the opposite we’re about advancing them and advancing them in a much stronger way.”
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The United States has not seen China evade sanctions or provide military equipment to Russia, a senior US official said on Thursday, adding that enforcement measures taken earlier in the week targeted certain Chinese companies, not the government.
The Commerce Department added five companies in China to a trade blacklist on Tuesday for allegedly supporting Russia’s military and defense industrial base as Moscow carries out its war in Ukraine.
US officials have warned of consequences, including sanctions, should China offer material support for Russia’s war effort, but have consistently said they have yet to detect overt Chinese military and economic backing of Moscow.
“China is not providing material support. This is normal course-of-business enforcement action against entities that have been backfilling for Russia,” a senior Biden administration official told Reuters, referring to the Commerce blacklist.
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“We have not seen the PRC (People’s Republic of China) engage in systematic evasion or provide military equipment to Russia,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The United States has set out with allies to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special operation”, by sanctioning a raft of Russian companies and oligarchs and adding others to a trade blacklist.
China has refused to condemn Russia’s actions and has criticized the sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow. Beijing also says that it has not provided military assistance to Russia or Ukraine, but that it would take “necessary measures” to protect the rights of its companies.
The Commerce Department action means US suppliers need a license before they can ship items to listed companies. But the department also targeted dozens of other entities, including some in allied countries, such as the United Kingdom and Lithuania.
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