Sharri Markson: In reality, we’re united with The States on China
China infected the world, but some bureaucrats and media think the US is the real threat, writes Sharri Markson.
Opinion
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The left-wing media is trying to paint the picture of a greatly divergent position between the United States administration and the Australian government on the outbreak of the coronavirus.
While those sentiments may exist within some elements of the Australian bureaucracy, the reality is Scott Morrison and Mike Pompeo have the same view of China’s culpability for the outbreak of COVID-19.
The two men are very close, sharing many of the same values and beliefs.
Whether or not the virus was created or leaked in a laboratory is a legitimate line of inquiry.
It’s why the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a rare statement to confirm intelligence networks are investigating it.
Early evidence to the Morrison government didn’t just claim that the virus accidentally leaked from a laboratory but that it may have been created there. This has now been ruled out.
But this entire matter of the origins of the virus is a side-show.
It distracts from what we do know. And that is that China deliberately chose to hide or destroy evidence of the virus and instead allow hundreds of thousands of people to die all around the world.
It is an understatement to talk about western blood on the hands of President Xi Jinping and Chinese authorities.
Yet, so many are resisting an investigation into China’s actions.
Into how China destroyed evidence at genomics laboratories and in the wet market.
Into the disappearances or arrests of journalists, doctors, activists and scientists.
Into the insistence coronavirus couldn’t be transmitted from person to person until January 20, when the first evidence emerged on December 6.
Into how China allowed millions of people to leave Wuhan after the outbreak with an untold number flying overseas, infecting countries the world over.
Shouldn’t we all — regardless of where we sit on the political spectrum — be concerned about how China, an emerging superpower, handled this outbreak?
I’ll repeat what former Defence Force Deputy Secretary, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Peter Jennings said to me: “While the origins of the virus is unclear, what’s very clear is that China is trying to weaponise the virus now.”
Let’s compare the political response to China’s criminal actions with Russia’s shooting down of flight MH17.
MH17 was not treated as a left or right issue. There was solidarity in calling for an investigation.
The unfortunate and sad reality is Australian politicians were less delicate with Russia. They were prepared to stand up and uphold our national interest. Yet the same approach is not being taken now when it comes to holding China to account.
It was easy to gang up on Russia as a natural villain because we don’t have any critical trade or economic ties with them. But with China, our largest trading partner, our leaders are tongue-tied, mealy mouthed and struggle to even say that they no longer trust China. It’s embarrassing.
Just the mention of an independent inquiry into their actions saw them threaten to cut off trade with Australia.
Imagine if Scott Morrison had threatened to shirt-front Xi Jinping. It would probably be World War III.
This shows we have already gone too far down the road of oppression of free speech, living by China’s values, to avoid offence.
It shows we have become far too dependent on China for our prosperity and failed to diversify.
In the short term it’s always going to be easier kowtowing to China because any trade-related impact China could impose on us would be felt immediately.
But we need to think longer-term about allowing a world superpower to be able to conduct itself like China is right now with no accountability, and with barely a critical word uttered from our leaders.
While Morrison’s endgame is holding China to account, there is a bizarre war being waged by some in the bureaucracy against the US. It is without the government’s backing.
There are small-time bureaucrats stirring up conflict with our closest ally, who actually shares our values.
These bureaucrats have their hands nowhere near the US intelligence on Wuhan which is managed by ASIS and the foreign ministry. Yet these bureaucrats, charged with protecting Australia’s national security, have been trying to create a problem between the US and Australia, instead of focusing on the greater issue of China.
As I reported on The Daily Telegraph’s front page on Wednesday, one senior federal source said there were emerging fears in the intelligence community that the US administration could be repeating mistakes made by George Bush when he pressured the UN weapons inspector to declare Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.
It really is an absurd comparison because the US is on the same page as Australia that the virus may have leaked from a laboratory and it needs to be investigated. The difference is Australia’s need for diplomacy given our reliance on China versus the United States’ politically expedient position to attack China.
The concerns of these bureaucrats do not accord with the Prime Minster’s view. I repeat, these expendable bureaucrats do not share the same view of Scott Morrison. This is significant.
To that end, there has been criticism of one department head, Home Affairs boss Mike Pezzullo, from within the federal government.
“Mike spends a little too much time speaking to journalists,” a government insider said.
Morrison’s real focus is holding China to account.
As Mike Pompeo said on Friday: “China could have prevented the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. China could have spared the world a descent into global economic malaise. They had a choice.
“China is still refusing to share the information we need to keep people safe, such as viral isolates, clinical specimens and details about the many COVID-19 patients in December 2019, not to mention ‘patient zero’.”
The fact that an investigation into the origin and outbreak is being resisted heavily by China is all the evidence you need that they have something to hide.