China hardens its rhetoric over support for Taiwan

As a telling counterpoint to new Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian’s endeavours to get our bilateral relationship back “on the right track”, the tirade against Australia from Beijing’s Defence Ministry last Thursday was deeply irresponsible and disappointing. Responding to Defence Minister Peter Dutton’s earlier statement that Australia would do “whatever we can” to deter China from “acts of aggression” in the Taiwan Strait, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Tan Kefei said Australia would “suffer the worst consequences” if it offered military support to Taiwan. Fulminating against Mr Dutton’s “Cold War mentality” and “ideological bias”, the colonel declared “no one and no force” could stop Beijing from bringing Taiwan under its control. Nothing Mr Dutton said deserved such an irrational response. Neither did Mr Xiao, who was holding his first high-level meetings following his appointment, starting with a chat with Foreign Minister Marise Payne. Mr Xiao also held separate meetings in Sydney with former prime ministers John Howard and Paul Keating, former foreign ministers Julie Bishop and Bob Carr, and business leaders such as Andrew Forrest and Warwick Smith.

Colonel Tan, clearly, was not singing from the same song sheet as the ambassador. Colonel Tan’s superiors in Beijing need to realise how badly his belligerence played out not only in Australia but in other countries across the Indo-Pacific.

Growing antipathy towards Beijing’s coercion and bullying was evident in last week’s win in South Korea’s presidential election by the populist “China hawk” Yoon Suk-yeol. The election was fought mainly on domestic issues such as corruption and housing prices. Mr Yoon won by a narrow margin – 48.6 per cent against 47.8 per cent for Lee Jae-myung, of the liberal Democratic Party of outgoing president Moon Jae-in. But Mr Yoon’s strong pledge that he would build even closer ties with the US and the four Quad nations (the US, Australia, Japan and India) was a contrast to the malleable Mr Moon’s more accommodating attitude towards Beijing. Mr Moon also bent over backwards to ensure good relations with Pyongyang, but he was a solid Western ally, as he showed during his state visit to Australia last year. Mr Yoon has spoken of seeking a “deeper alliance” with Washington. Under his leadership, he said, Seoul would willingly participate in the Quad to defend the rules-based world order.

Mr Yoon has also praised Australia and Japan for standing up for their security interests against Chinese coercion. He has also promised to expand deployment of the massive, US-supplied THAAD missile defence shield that enraged China in 2016. In the past, he reportedly argued for the deployment of US nuclear missiles in South Korea to defend it against the North.

All of which makes Mr Yoon a troubling figure for Beijing, which will not welcome his People Power Party as the ruler of one of the most important nations in the region. South Koreans are not alone in their concerns about Beijing and Kim Jong-un’s unhinged regime, which has begun new missile tests designed to menace South Korea, Japan and other nations. Mr Yoon’s victory is an opportunity to further enhance South Korea’s role among nations determined to deter China’s and North Korea’s relentless aggression and ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. As Scott Morrison told Mr Yoon in a message: “Underpinned by our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Australia’s relationship with the Republic of Korea has never been stronger. Together we can build a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.” Hundreds of millions of people across the region want no less.