Australia unsure how ‘assertive’ China will act, Penny Wong says

Source: intellibriefs.blogspot.com --- Sunday, October 15, 2017
http://ift.tt/1AFLGzyAustralia-news/2017/oct/16/Australia-unsure-how-assertive-china-will-act-penny-wong-says Shadow foreign affairs minister says Australia needs to ‘understand China, its motives and its mindsets’ Paul Karp   Monday 16 October 2017 04.33 BSTLast modified on Monday 16 October 2017 05.29 BST Australia does not “fully know” how an increasingly assertive China will use its power, Penny Wong has warned in a speech pledging to safeguard Australia’s sovereignty while accepting China as a global player. The defence and security communities must be “on the lookout for threats” as government and business expand the trade relationship with China, the Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman told the Australian Institute of International Affairs in Canberra on Monday. But Wong warned that discussion about China was “vulnerable … to infection with undertones of race and alienation”, citing One Nation’s “dystopian rhetoric” as an example.  Malcolm Turnbull backs Trump on North Korea: 'We are of one mind'   Read more Wong said Australia must “understand China, its motives and its mindsets” because “we don’t yet know how its pursuit of a more ambitious agenda will play out globally” nor “how China intends to condition its use of power”. Advertisement “China is becoming more assertive, and more inclined not only to demand a place at the table, but also a say in which table and what design,” she said. Wong said that Australia s ...

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