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China’s Deputy Ambassador accused Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison of overreacting to a social media post about alleged war crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.
Wang Xining criticized the prime minister’s irate response to the incendiary and manipulated image of an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghan boy.
Sam Mooy / Getty Images
China’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister Wang Xining.
“I think it is unfortunate that this issue has evolved in such a way that it has deviated and there is now much greater visibility of the Brereton report in China,” he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
“More people are watching what happened in Afghanistan.
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“People wonder why a national leader would have such a strong opinion on a work of art made by a normal young artist in China.”
The European Union has criticized the tweet “irresponsible and insensitive.”
Representatives of the powerful political and economic bloc raised the issue with a Chinese vice foreign minister.
“We consider the deliberate dissemination of a fabricated image through social media accounts affiliated with the Chinese Foreign Ministry to be irresponsible, insensitive and unconstructive, particularly given the issue at hand,” an EU spokesperson told AAP.
“Such behavior and use of information tools to disseminate fabricated images or information cannot be justified.”
Australia’s intelligence allies, including the United States, New Zealand and Canada, have criticized the aggressive Chinese tweet.
SUPPLIED
The manipulated image shared by a Chinese official that has angered Australia.
The EU is closely monitoring the deterioration in Sino-Australian relations, and trade and diplomatic relations sink to a new low.
“We hope that China and Australia can re-engage in dialogue, avoid escalation and unilateral pressure,” the spokesman said.
The diplomatic dispute was also raised at a recent meeting of EU-Australia leaders.
Wang played down the barrage of attacks on Australia in Chinese state media, dismissing a list of grievances raised by the embassy as “just a few examples of what we disagree with.”
He denied that there was a diplomatic freeze in place, even though Australian ministers are unable to reach their Chinese counterparts by phone.
JOE ARMAO / Sydney Morning Herald
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia will not compromise security, freedom of expression and human rights after China launched its first explicit threats of economic retaliation for Australia’s foreign policies.
And despite a series of recent trade strikes, the deputy ambassador denied that China was waging a concerted campaign targeting Australian products.
Wang also argued that Australian leaders had been misguided by public officials and government-funded think tanks.
“Taxpayers are the backbone of society and keep the host community going. Unfortunately, the leaders here have been misguided by people who consume taxes, they don’t contribute to taxes,” he said.
“I hope people can have a clearer mind of what is happening on the ground.”
He said the ball was in Australia’s court to change relations with China.
But Attorney General Christian Porter said the relationship was two-way and Australia would not have done anything differently of late.
“This will be a matter of continuous dialogue and patience. Obviously, it will take a lot of work,” he told reporters.
