Both the government and the opposition have thoroughly rejected a claim by Beijing’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, that a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) warship did not use a sonic weapon against Australian divers last year.
In November, a Chinese warship acted dangerously using its sonar during an incident with an Australian Navy vessel in Japan’s waters, injuring military divers who were clearing fishing nets from its propellers.
At an annual press briefing, Mr. Xiao said Beijing “didn’t initiate sonar,” noting there was a Japanese navy boat nearby.
“Whether there was sonar from the other party, we don’t know,” he said.
Australian PM ‘Not Swayed’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected the ambassador’s version of events, saying he stood by the comments his government made at the time.“I’m not swayed by [Mr. Xiao’s] comments,” he said. ”The navy made reports, I think it’s very clear what occurred, and I stand by the comments that I made at the time—it was wrong, it shouldn’t have occurred.”
That position was echoed by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who said it was Mr. Xiao’s job to advocate for his country, but that, “What I would say about that incident is we stand by the assessments of the [Australian Defence Force or ADF] and the representations we made.”
The opposition was stronger in its response, with home affairs spokesman, James Paterson, saying such a suggestion was “ridiculous in the extreme.”
“One of the problems of being a Chinese diplomat abroad is that you have an audience of one, and that’s an audience at home and that’s [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping. And everything you say and do is about pleasing that audience, not the host country who you’re trying to influence,” he said.
“That leads you to say utterly absurd things that completely undermine your credibility as a diplomat.”
Doubt From Experts
Doubt has also been cast on the ambassador’s claims by defence experts.Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge pointed out that initially, Beijing had admitted to using sonar, claiming the Australian ship got too close to Japanese waters.
He said the CCP was now “peddling nonsense” implying Japan was somehow responsible.
He accused Beijing of trying to “drive wedges between partners and allies.”
Meanwhile, the lead author of Australia’s Defence Strategic Review, Peter Dean, said Mr. Xiao’s statement was “typical” of the misinformation coming out of Beijing.
“When it comes to building better relationships bilaterally ... this is literally the worst thing you could come out with in the new year. It’s not at all believable and of course not only is it seen as such by Australia, but it’s an affront to the Japanese as well.”
Professor Dean said the tactics were “intimidatory” and that Australia “should be calling out this incident for what it is.”
Japan’s Embassy in Australia claimed not to have seen Mr. Qian’s comments.
“Generally speaking, however, Japan and Australia as the core of a partnership of like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region, unambiguously abide by the rule of law and have been promoting security cooperation across a wide range of areas,” an embassy spokesman said.
