Australia: We will stand up to China
MANILA, Philippines — Australia will stand up to China to defend peace, liberal values and the rule of law, the Australian foreign minister said in a recent statement.
The words of Julie Bishop, the top Australian diplomat, in an interview with Fairfax media last week were deemed to be the strongest yet from the Pacific power amid the growing concerns on China's militarization and assertion in disputed seas.
Bishop said Australia will no longer hesitate to speak up and face China despite previous governments marked by reservations on China's behavior, which she says compromises freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.
"China doesn't respect weakness," Bishop said.
China has been perceived by the United States, a key Australian defense allly, to be bullying smaller neighbors including the Philippines and Vietnam and posing a threat to Japan to assert its maritime claims.
Bishop said Australia should not choose between speaking up for its security alliances in the Asia Pacific and avoiding risks in its economic engagement with China.
"We know that the optimum is deeper engagement [with China]. But we're also clear-eyed about what could go wrong. So you have to hope for the best but manage for the worst," Bishop explained.
Bishop had condemned China's unilateral declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone over the East China Sea in November last year.
"This did affect our national interest because it meant that, for example, our national carrier Qantas suddenly had to inform Beijing even if it wasn't flying anywhere near," she said.
She said a majority of Australia's trade is done in the key waterways.
Bishop believes that Canberra's foreign policy and position under the ruling Coalition protects its economy and furthers liberal principles.
"All we do and say supports those values we have on the economic front, and our values as an open liberal democracy committed to rule of law, committed to freedoms and committed to international norms," she said.
Australia has recently renewed its defense ties with Japan, one of China's rival sea claimants, with a new military technology sharing agreement under Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
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