Beijing hits back at Australian Min over remarks on China's sovereignty

Beijing has hit back at Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton over his remarks about China. According to ANI, Beijing has expressed displeasure over Peter Dutton's remarks which said, "China damaged the sovereignty of other countries and challenged the rule-based international order". Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense has asserted that Beijing strongly opposed the Australian minister's remarks about China. 

Wu Qian said that the Australian defence minister's groundless accusations on China are extremely dangerous and irresponsible. In his statement, he said, "China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the remarks by an official of the Australian Department of Defense publicly hyping up China threat theory and making groundless accusations toward China, which is extremely dangerous and irresponsible", according to ANI. Furthermore, Wu Qian hit back at Dutton, saying that Dutton's remarks have revealed his "Cold War mentality and ideological biases", which are against international peace, cooperation and development. He asserted that it also damaged regional peace and stability and Australia's interests. 

China opposes Peter Dutton's statement about China

The statement of Wu Qian came after Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton had made remarks about China. Last week, Dutton had said, "the world is grappling with a regional environment far more complex and far less predictable than at any time since the Second World War". He further stated that China had damaged the sovereignty of other countries and it had also challenged the "rule-based international order." Reportedly, Dutton said that the activities of Chinese officials had grown increasingly "bellicose and coercive".

China-Australia relations 

The relations between China and Australia had begun to deteriorate after Australia in 2018, barred Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from building its 5G network. Reportedly, Canberra has been embroiled in a trade battle with Beijing, which has imposed restrictions on several Australian products. The relations between the two countries soared further after the Australian authorities called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. 

Image: AP

Inputs from ANI