Since resuscitating relations with China from a low point a few years ago, the Australian government has relied on an oft-repeated mantra to “cooperate where we can, disagree where we must.”
Some of those disagreements came into view this week as Chinese diplomats pushed back against an Australian intelligence assessment and Canberra’s security-deal making in the Pacific, accusing the country of stoking paranoia and unfairly targeting China.
In one of the public skirmishes, China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, responded to an annual threat assessment speech given by Australia’s top intelligence official, Mike Burgess, by writing an opinion piece published this week in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr. Burgess warned about foreign interference in Australian society as well as “coercive repatriations” and attempts to gain access to critical infrastructure. He did not mention China by name, but a video at the event reportedly showed footage of Chinese nationals who were arrested in Canberra for allegedly covertly collecting information on a Buddhist group in Australia on behalf of Chinese security officials.
Mr. Xiao took issue with the clip, calling it “one-sided.” Saying Australian organizations and media outlets had “repeatedly fabricated and hyped falsehoods and fallacies regarding the security threat posed by China,” Mr. Xiao wrote that the allegations had “deeply wounded the feelings of the people of both China and Australia, and undermined the atmosphere of friendly cooperation between the two sides.”
In a twist on the Australian government’s China policy, Mr. Xiao said the two countries should be “seeking common ground while shelving differences.”
