BEIJING: The Australian Federal Government recently vetoed two Belt and Road memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed between the state of Victoria and China’s National Development and Reform Commission. Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said the arrangements were considered to be “inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy or adverse to Australia’s foreign relations.” Newly appointed Defense Minister Peter Dutton thundered that “China and others need to understand that Australia is not going to be bullied and we’re standing up for our beliefs.”
The reactions seem a bit over the top when the MOUs did not actually commit Victoria to specific projects and were not legally binding. They were only about potential future cooperation.
Australia is well aware of the disruption this announcement would cause and the way this decision would further chill bilateral relations. There are some in the federal government who welcome this attack. There is an active cohort of hawks who want to contain and confront China.
In this sense, this announcement serves an Australian foreign policy agenda that very much takes its lead from the United States. Though this doesn’t mean following every step the U.S. takes, particularly under former President Donald Trump, it does mean that Australia looks to the U.S. for guidance and support.
This was the key message Australia took from the China-U.S. high-level strategic dialogue, in Anchorage, Alaska in the U.S., in March, where the U.S. reportedly brought up “China’s treatment of Australia.”
– The Daily Mail-Beijing Review News exchange item
