Former top Australian politician blames loose talk for strain on relations
China Watch |
Updated: 2018-05-28 09:50
Bob Carr, a former New South Wales premier and former foreign minister of Australia, said Australia-China relations are off the rails, in some measures more than any time since diplomatic relations began in 1972.
In an article published on May 24, in The Sydney Morning Herald, Carr said that strains in the Australia-China relations are not due to differences of substance, but rather because of loose talk, or a "flamboyant rhetorical shift against China" from Australia's government officials, presumably to impress the Trump administration with better alliance credentials.
In foreign relations words are bullets, he said, adding that no other US ally - not Japan or any of the European countries - has thought it necessary to abandon diplomatic practice in the conduct of its China relationship. Nor have US partners like India or Singapore.
He praised the "pragmatic, national interest-based China policy that in (former prime minister) John Howard’s words set differences to one side and worked on the things we could agree on".
Bob Carr, a former New South Wales premier and former foreign minister of Australia, said Australia-China relations are off the rails, in some measures more than any time since diplomatic relations began in 1972.
In an article published on May 24, in The Sydney Morning Herald, Carr said that strains in the Australia-China relations are not due to differences of substance, but rather because of loose talk, or a "flamboyant rhetorical shift against China" from Australia's government officials, presumably to impress the Trump administration with better alliance credentials.
In foreign relations words are bullets, he said, adding that no other US ally - not Japan or any of the European countries - has thought it necessary to abandon diplomatic practice in the conduct of its China relationship. Nor have US partners like India or Singapore.
He praised the "pragmatic, national interest-based China policy that in (former prime minister) John Howard’s words set differences to one side and worked on the things we could agree on".
