Editorial
Taking high ground as Xi’s regime tramples freedoms
Life comes at you fast in dealing with the Chinese Communist Party, its satraps and surrogates. The squeeze on freedoms in Hong Kong via the new security law has been as swift as it is alarming. It enfeebles the “one country, two systems” framework and Hong Kong’s own Basic Law. Australia and other nations have expressed concerns about Beijing’s assault on international treaties. Canberra has responded by changing travel advice for Hong Kong and China, given the increased risk of detention and with so-called “hostage diplomacy” a distinct possibility. As well, the Morrison government has prudently suspended the extradition treaty with Hong Kong and taken steps to enable new pathways to permanent residency for students and skilled workers already here. Again, these minimalist moves and accompanying language are consistent with our values and interests. Some believe Australia should be doing even more to open our doors to refugees from Hong Kong.
Predictably, Beijing and its shadow puppets have condemned the moves as interfering in its internal affairs. How so? Scott Morrison is simply making necessary changes to our arrangements in response to Beijing’s wild behaviour and on Friday vowed always to stand up for our interests, consistent with values. Inevitably, there will be slanders from wolf warrior envoys and new economic penalties, the telltale drip, drip, drip of payback and coercion. What a strange historic moment, as Greg Sheridan noted, when Canberra feels it necessary to warn its citizens of the dangers of visiting our biggest trading partner. Bizarre, actually, when you consider Beijing’s counterclaims that Australia, one of the safest places at any time, poses a threat to Chinese students.
The Prime Minister is walking a narrow road, yet he is not alone. In a virtual meeting on Thursday, Mr Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed grave concerns about China’s Hong Kong crackdown. The leaders pledged to strengthen co-operation on cyber security and critical technologies while signalling a deepening of defence and security ties, including with the US. Australia and Japan expressed strong opposition to “any coercive or unilateral actions that could alter the status quo or increase tensions in the East and South China seas”, amid concern at Beijing’s actions in the area. A statement reaffirmed the commitment of both countries to maintaining a “free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific”, including the promotion of a region that advanced the “rule of law, respect for sovereignty, inclusiveness and openness”.
Earlier in the week Foreign Minister Marise Payne, after convening with her counterparts on Hong Kong and global security, said the Five Eyes partners would work together for human rights and freedoms. Australia also is involved in the “quad” security dialogue with Japan, India and the US. Strategic analysts argue we need to take the lead in aligning democracies in a combined position on the CCP’s revanchist onslaught. We can play a positive role without spearheading the effort on Hong Kong, which likely falls to Britain given its historic ties. In any case, the key principle is a united front in the Indo-Pacific involving, say, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, otherwise the CCP militarists will keep trying to pick off countries one by one, as they have in the broader region.
In a brutal new era of great-power competition, Washington has stepped up its game in calling out China’s serial aggression and foreign interference. This week US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told his Pentagon chiefs China presented the biggest military threat to America. FBI director Christopher Wray earlier had warned that China was “engaged in a whole-of-state effort to become the world’s only superpower by any means necessary” and was the greatest threat to US economic vitality. This is the harsh, contested and tetchy reality, rather than the world we wish it to be. As we recalibrate our defences, deepening military, strategic and diplomatic capability, we need to keep working with partners. That means stepping up in the neighbourhood while trying to make sure multilateral bodies are fit for the new realities. As we said at the start, in engaging with Xi Jinping’s regime, events move quickly. We alone can’t control a belligerent power, or expect that it will act rationally or conform to the norms of good global citizenry. But we can stand our ground, join with trusted peers and act with high principle and dignity.