CANBERRA, Australia –
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday called for a cooling of tensions after Beijing accused her of “finger pointing” in her criticism of China’s military exercises in response to the Australian president’s visit. the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan.
Wong criticized China’s launch of ballistic missiles during ongoing air and sea exercises around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. He also signed a joint statement with the United States and Japan on Saturday that condemned missile launches against Japan’s exclusive economic zones and accused China of “raising tension and destabilizing the region.”
The Chinese Embassy in Australia responded to the trilateral statement saying, “It is absolutely unacceptable to point fingers at China’s justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The embassy accused Australia of carrying out the orders of the United States, which China described as the “biggest spoiler and destabilizer of the peace in the Taiwan Strait and the biggest troublemaker of regional stability”.
“We hope that the Australian side can treat the Taiwan issue with caution, not follow certain countries’ strategy of containing China with Taiwan, and not create new problems and disturbances in China-Australia relations,” a statement from Australia said. the Embassy. .
Wong declined to comment on the state of the Sino-Australian relationship following Pelosi’s visit last week. Beijing had signaled a possible reset in the relationship after the election of the new Australian government in May. Relations had plumbed new depths during the previous government’s nine years in power.
“The most critical thing right now is for the temperature to drop and calm to be restored when it comes to cross-Strait tensions,” Wong told reporters.
“Australia continues to urge restraint, Australia continues to urge de-escalation, and this is not something that only Australia is asking for, and the entire region is concerned about the current situation, the entire region is calling for stability to be restored.” Wong added.
Asked how Australia was developing a foreign policy independent of the United States, Wong told reporters: “Australia is always guided by our national interests.”
He later hosted US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman at Parliament House. Sherman arrived in Australia after visiting the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Tonga, island nations in the South Pacific where China is increasing its influence.
Sherman said at the start of talks with Wong that the United States and Australia “share a commitment to deepen cooperation with the Pacific islands, which are critical partners.”
Wong’s call for restraint was backed by Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, who was in the Australian capital Canberra for the opening of a new embassy.
Rinkevics drew parallels between Chinese military assertiveness over Taiwan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It is very important to understand that China is also watching very closely what is happening in Europe, what is happening in Ukraine,” he said. “It’s very important that we work together and provide the same kind of message about the need to exercise restraint, not overreact in your actions, and not create another regional and global flashpoint.”
Latvia wants Russia to be declared a state sponsor of terrorism and has urged other countries to follow Latvia’s example by denying all Russians any kind of visa.