Marise Payne bows to pressure over detained Canada diplomats

Marise Payne has spoken out against China’s detention of two Canadian citizens after other nations pressured her to condemn the arrests.

Marise Payne and Scott Morrison. Picture; Getty Images.

Marise Payne has spoken out against China’s detention of two Canadian citizens despite initially declining to do so after a number of other western nations condemned the arrests.

The Foreign Minister released a statement late on Sunday night saying Australia has conveyed the message to Chinese diplomats. The move also came after a group of 30 foreign policy experts and former officials signed a petition earlier on Sunday calling on Australia to advocate for the release of the two Canadian men.

Senator Payne said Australia had also discussed the issue with Canadian diplomats.

“The Australian Government is concerned about the recent detention of two Canadian citizens in China. We would be very concerned if these cases were related to legal proceedings currently underway in Canada involving a Chinese citizen, Ms Meng Wanzhou,” Senator Payne told The Australian.

“The Australian Government has conveyed this position to Chinese counterparts and we have been in regular contact with Canadian officials.”

China detained Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat and think tank researcher, and Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur, in the days after the arrest in Vancouver of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

The US has been keen to extradite Ms Meng to America to face accusations of the company breaking sanctions against Iran.

China said the arrest in early December “ignored the law” and warned Canada that there will be consequences if it did not immediately release a senior Huawei executive.

So far the EU, the US, the UK, Germany and France have all released statements supporting Canada or expressing concern over the two men.

Senator Payne told The Australian on December 17 she was declining to comment on the case.

On Sunday night the Senator said Australia believed in the independence of the Canadian judicial system, which China has questioned.

“Australia and Canada share a strong commitment to the rule of law, essential to the functioning of our democratic systems. I have every confidence in the fairness and independence of Canada’s administration of justice.”

China’s suspicions were heightened when US President Donald Trump suggested he may intervene in the Justice Department’s case against Huawei.

The experts who signed the petition include the Lowy Institute’s Richard McGregor, Rory Medcalf, Geremie R Barmé and John Blaxland from the Australian National University, and Linda Jakobson from China Matters which advises government.

“In view of the risks this raises to Australian research and business activities that form the bedrock of positive Australia-China relations, we respectfully ask you to join the above-mentioned governments in supporting the Canadian government’s call for the immediate release of these two detainees,” the group said.