China has conveyed its disapproval to Australia over a visit to Taiwan by former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, a Beijing diplomat said, with the trip threatening to undermine efforts by both nations to improve relations ahead of a state visit later this year.
Speaking at an Asia Society event in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian (肖千) said Morrison’s visit to Taiwan was a “serious concern” and hoped that Australian politicians would be “sensitive” to China’s views.
After years of diplomatic tensions, relations between the two major trading partners have normalized ahead of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s planned visit to Beijing later this year, but trips to Taiwan by Australian politicians could derail the warming ties.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Morrison met with President Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Tuesday, where he delivered a speech saying that Australia would “always be great friends with the people of Taiwan.”
Just last month, a delegation of Australian lawmakers visited Taiwan.
China’s envoy yesterday said that he wanted to see the relationship between Australia and China develop even further, adding the common ground between the two nations is greater than their differences.
“We want to move beyond stabilization and to further improve our relationship,” Xiao said.
Relations between Australia and China reached their lowest point in 2020, after Morrison, who was the then-prime minister, called for an international investigation into the origins of COVID-19 — a politically sensitive issue for Beijing. In response, the Chinese government imposed trade sanctions on a range of Australian exports, including heavy tariffs on wine and barley.
Following the election of Albanese’s center-left Labor government in May last year, Australia and China saw a significant improvement in their relations. High-level ministerial meetings between the two nations restarted, while a number of sanctions on Australian exports were lifted.
Albanese is expected to visit Beijing before the end of this year, a trip scheduled to mark 50 years since the first visit of an Australian prime minister to China in 1973.
Asked about growing concerns over the state of the Chinese economy, Xiao said the worsening data was only temporary and that the overall trajectory of the nation’s growth is positive.
“Australia should have confidence in China’s economy, and should have confidence in trade relations, economic relations between the two countries,” he said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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