US support ‘gives confidence to others’ regarding China
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne says the United States’ vocal support for Australia should embolden other countries to stand up to Beijing when the Chinese government threatens their national values and interests.
Payne held her first in-person meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington yesterday, as well as meetings with other top Biden administration officials.
Payne also said her government was pushing for a more thorough investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 coronavirus while maintaining its belief that the virus probably emerged from wildlife rather than a Chinese laboratory leak.
At a joint press conference, Blinken backed recent remarks by Indo-Pacific Co-ordinator Kurt Campbell that China’s economic coercion of Australia was a roadblock to a normalisation of relations between the rival superpowers. ‘‘I reiterated that the United States will not leave Australia alone on the field – or should I say alone on the pitch – in the face of economic coercion by China,’’ Blinken said. ‘‘That’s what allies do.’’ Blinken said he had told Chinese officials explicitly that ‘‘actions targeting our closest partners and allies will hinder improvements in our own relationship with China’’.
Payne said: ‘‘I hope that the support Australia has received from the United States gives confidence to others. It doesn’t matter where challenges to your sovereignty come from – all countries should know that there is a global community that can support one another in this most basic expectation of nationhood.’’
Payne said Australia was ready to resume dialogue with China ‘‘at any time’’.
‘‘But we have been open and clear and consistent about the fact that we are dealing with a number of challenges,’’ she added.
Speaking after the meeting, Payne said other countries could ‘‘feel reluctant to engage’’ with China on issues such as the repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang province, but she hoped this would change.
‘‘The United States is giving strength to others that it is possible to speak out on these issues,’’ she said.
Both Payne and Blinken said they continued to have concerns about the World Health Organisation’s report into the origins of the coronavirus, especially as global investigators were not given access to original data and laboratory samples in China. The socalled lab leak hypothesis has been attracting increased attention in both Australia and the US in recent weeks.