Tensions between Australia and China are mounting after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne have repeatedly called for an international investigation into the coronavirus pandemic, including its source, how it spread, and China’s culpability.
On April 18, Australia’s Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, said that Australia’s concern about China’s transparency was at a “very high point” and “insisted” on the importance of an “independent review” into the ongoing pandemic. In fact, Senator Payne said that Australia’s relationship will “need to be reviewed” as a result of this crisis.
On April 22, Australia pushed for the World Health Organization (WHO) to be given the same powers as United Nations (UN) weapons inspectors, wherein WHO inspectors could “forcibly” enter countries to ensure that a similar pandemic does not take place again in the future. While Australia has not withdrawn funding from the WHO like US President Donald Trump or explicitly called it “China-centric”, it has become increasingly disillusioned with the organization’s apparent bias towards the Chinese government.
In fact, Morrison and Payne are also calling for a global review of the WHO’s performance during this crisis to determine whether organizational reform is required. The Prime Minister has discussed his plans for an international investigation with Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Australia has lost faith in the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, and has suggested that the UN could appoint an independent investigator in the future. The Morrison government’s growing disdain for the UN and China was demonstrated in the fact that it did not co-sponsor a UN resolution put forth by Mexico that called for international cooperation in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The resolution was signed by 179 states and was adopted by the UN General Assembly.
The WHO has welcomed Australia’s push to give the organization greater powers, with Margaret Harris, a senior official within the body, calling the nation an “honest broker” that “punches way above its weight in public health and is listened to across the spectrum”. Dr. Harris added that WHO would conduct its own “after-action review” after the outbreak is over, but said that she is not opposed to an independent global review. In fact, she said that an independent investigation would be more trusted and not be “dominated by one sort of group or another” and would result in “limited conflicts of interest”.
China’s Ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, has said that Australia’s call for a global inquiry is “dangerous”, “politically motivated”, and that it will fail as it will not gather sufficient support among world leaders. He also warned that it could lead to a Chinese boycott in terms of students, tourism, and exports. In response to China’s boycott threats, Senator Payne rejected Cheng’s “economic coercion” tactics. Meanwhile, PM Morrison said, “Australians will find markets, as we have been now for a long time, all around the world,” and find new ways to become self-sufficient. However, Morrison did attempt to engage in some damage limitation, adding that Australia shares a “mutually beneficial” relationship with China and that Australia would continue to respect “China’s sovereignty, and their independence”.
Nevertheless, tensions between the two countries appear to be coming to a head. Two weeks ago, a Chinese plane chartered by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) that was carrying medical equipment blocked an Australian plane from delivering humanitarian supplies to Vanuatu. Payne called the incident “regrettable” and raised Australia’s concerns with the Chinese government. Similarly, after the Haiyang Dizhi 8 and a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel entered Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) last week, an Australian frigate joined three US warships in conducting a joint exercise in the South China Sea as an act of maritime posturing.
Australia-China Ties Strained After Morrison Calls for Global Review Into COVID-19 Crisis
Australia has called for an international investigation into China, WHO, and the virus.
April 29, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: SHEN HONG / XINHUA