China Accuses Australia of COVID-19 Vaccine Sabotage in the Pacific
AUSTRALIA’S MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE PACIFIC, ZED SESELJA, WHO ARRIVED IN PNG THIS WEEK FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, TOLD THE ABC THIS WAS “ABSOLUTELY NOT THE CASE” Pacific health officials have said they are not concerned about where their vaccines come from — they just want them to protect their citizens.
The Australian government has denied accusations it has been “sabotaging” China’s aid programmes with Pacific nations and using “political manipulation” to interfere in COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in the region.
Articles in Chinese state-owned media claim Australia has been “planting” consultants in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to obstruct the authorisation of Chinese-supplied vaccines.
The Global Times said it had “learned exclusively from sources” that Australia had been “racking its brain to undermine China’s vaccine co-operation with Pacific Island countries,” even accusing Australian authorities of threatening PNG officials.
Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, who arrived in PNG this week for the first time since the pandemic began, told the ABC this was “absolutely not the case”.
“Obviously, when we see that, it’s rejected by the Australian government,” he said.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday repeated the claims, warning Australia to “stop interfering with and undermining vaccine co-operation between China and Pacific Island countries.
“Some people in Australia use the vaccine issue to engage in political manipulation and bullying, which is a disregard for the life and health of Papua New Guinea people, goes against the basic humanitarian spirit, seriously interferes with the overall situation of global cooperation against the pandemic,” Mr Wang said.
Jonathan Pryke, director of the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Programme, said the accusations levelled at Australia were unfair.
He said Australia had stepped up its support to PNG during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing vaccines, medical equipment, and services to administer vaccines as the country works to control its outbreak.
“It’s a bit unfair to be characterising it this way, that Australia is undermining Chinese actions,” Mr Pryke said.
“I think, rather, we’re just providing better alternatives than what China is offering to Papua New Guinea.”
PNG initially held off accepting vaccine donations from China, until they received emergency use approval from the World Health Organisation.
200,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine arrived in the country a little over a week ago, but it has not been approved for general use yet.
“Once we complete the rollout plan and other critical details, we can make this vaccine available through the national programme, but currently it’s only for Chinese citizens,” PNG’s COVID-19 incident manager Dr Daoni Esorom said.
PNG’s pandemic controller said earlier this week that the country was looking to ramp up its vaccination program now that it has AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and soon Johnson & Johnson doses.
Pacific nations caught up in regional vaccine diplomacy battle
A rollout of China’s Sinopharm vaccine began in the Pacific in May after it was approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Despite the WHO approval, Sinopharm is not being administered in Australia.
In the same week Sinopharm was launched in the Pacific, Australia pledged to donate tens of thousands of additional doses of its AstraZeneca jabs to Pacific nations, in what some say points to a growing diplomatic rivalry between China and Australia in the region.
Sinopharm is said to be a key component of China’s “vaccine diplomacy”, where hundreds of millions of doses of Chinese-made vaccines are being offered to low-and middle-income countries around the world.
And while experts say China’s efforts may deepen the coalition of developing countries that increasingly look to China for “global leadership,” Mr Wang said Beijing’s vaccine rollout in PNG had “no geopolitical purpose and no political conditions attached”.
In the Global Times report, China instead accused Australia of using vaccines to push for political influence in the region.
Australia initially donated 8,400 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to PNG, and has since committed to supplying 10,000 doses every week, along with medical support.
Mr Seselja said the Australian government was simply “fulfilling our moral and economic responsibility”.
“We come to these issues in good faith, and we’ll continue to do things that are in the interests of our region and in the interest of our friends and neighbours, most particularly PNG,” he said.
“As our region thrives, so does Australia thrive.”
PNG willing to embrace any support
Pacific health officials have said they are not concerned about where their vaccines come from — they just want them to protect their citizens.
Orovu Sepoe, an expert in PNG politics, said the country’s foreign policy stance was to be a “friend to all and enemy to none”.
But she said growing diplomatic tensions between Australia and China needed to be managed carefully by PNG.
PNG had a worrying surge in coronavirus cases from March to May and has faced logistical issues getting immunisation programs running across the country.
The country, which has a population of 9 million, has so far administered just under 55,000 jabs.
PNG has officially recorded just over 17,000 cases and 173 deaths since the pandemic began.