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Australia
OpinionComment
Tian Shichen
Bao Huaying
Tian ShichenandBao Huaying

Opinion | In Australia’s Twitter row with China, no surprise who the West sides with

  • The dispute over Australian war crimes is just the latest in a long chain of disputes between Australia and China, and Canberra was probably upset that the boot is now on the other foot
  • Australia’s allies have understandably taken its side. Such double standards in the West’s approach to China are nothing new

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Tian ShichenandBao Huaying
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has demanded that China apologise after Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian recently shared a post on Twitter depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child.
China is not alone in criticising Australia in this regard. The findings from the Australian Defence Force inquiry sparked widespread international condemnation; a New York Times report was headlined “Blood Lust Demigods: Behind an Australian Force’s Slaughter of Helpless Afghans”.

The findings were also reported by The Indian Express, Deutsche Welle and many other media outlets. Zhao’s tweet does not add much to the condemnation since the global press has already covered the report’s publication in great detail. But why was it only the Chinese criticism that triggered Australia’s outrage?

First, this seemingly new flashpoint is only the tail of a long chain of disputes between Australia and China. The two countries have been at odds over a number of issues over the past few years, including the Turnbull government’s decision to exclude Chinese telecoms companies Huawei and ZTE from Australia’s 5G network and its introduction of foreign interference laws that were seen as targeting China’s activities.
Earlier this year, Australia called for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, infuriating Beijing. The quarrel over the Twitter image of Australian war crimes only aggravated the relationship, which many believe has reached its lowest point.

07:55

Australia ditched diplomacy for ‘adversarial approach’ to China and ‘a pat on the head’ from US

Australia ditched diplomacy for ‘adversarial approach’ to China and ‘a pat on the head’ from US

Second, Australia might also have felt wronged that, even though it took more accountability of its actions than others, it nevertheless appeared to have received more criticism. Prior to the publication of the Australia report, there were also claims of alleged war crimes committed by the US military in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, and by the British military in Iraq following the US-led invasion of the country.

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