China's military exercises | Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong calls for cooling of Taiwan Strait tensions
The Hindu
Penny Wong also signed a joint statement with the U. S. and Japan that condemned firing of missiles into Japanese exclusive economic zones and accused China of “raising tension and destabilising the region”.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on August 8 called for a cooling of tensions after Beijing accused her of “finger-pointing” in her criticism of China's military exercises in response to U. S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
Ms. Wong criticised China's launch of ballistic missiles during the ongoing air and sea drills around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
She also signed a joint statement with the U. S. and Japan on Saturday that condemned firing of missiles into Japanese exclusive economic zones and accused China of “raising tension and destabilising the region”.
The Chinese Embassy in Australia replied to the trilateral statement, saying: “It is absolutely unacceptable for the finger-pointing on China's justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The embassy accused Australia of doing the bidding of the U. S., which China described as the “biggest saboteur and destabiliser of peace in the Taiwan Strait and the biggest troublemaker to regional stability”.
“We ... hope that the Australian side could treat the Taiwan question with caution, does not follow certain countries' strategy of containing China with Taiwan and does not create new troubles and disturbances in China-Australia relations,” an embassy statement said.
Ms. Wong declined to comment on the state of the Sino-Australian relationship following Ms. Pelosi's visit last week. Beijing had signalled a potential reset in the relationship following the new Australian government's election in May. Relations had plumbed new depths during the previous government's nine years in power.