Turnbull reset with China could swing back on Morrison

There is a danger the reset in relations began by Malcolm Turnbull could be reset back the other way.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviews troops in Asaka yesterday. Picture: AP

While Malcolm Turnbull had moved to “reset” Australia’s strained relations with China just before his ousting, it appears military issues in the East and South China seas could flare as a new problem in ties between Canberra and Beijing.

While it was not a statement from the Foreign Ministry, Friday’s editorial in the state-owned China Daily makes it clear Beijing is concerned at the strengthening military ties between Australia and Japan, and whether both will be drawn into US-led actions it sees as aimed at containing its reach and influence.

Beijing was clearly not happy with the statements released after the meetings in Sydney between the Japanese and Australian defence and foreign ministers announcing joint military exercises next year in waters north of Japan.

In an editorial headlined “Australia and Japan should not let ally lead them astray”, the China Daily warned against a return to “Cold War paranoia” and of a “fragile peace” that could be “shattered by the slightest misstep”. These highly emotive words were designed to send a strong signal to Canberra that China is closely watching Australia’s stance in the region.

It is true the US and its allies are more aggressively challenging China’s claims to the South China Sea with increasing freedom of navigation patrols.

China has clashed twice with US and British ships in the past two months. Friday’s editorial followed another in the China Daily two days before ­attacking former minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells for her ­article in The Australian that repeated her long-held concerns about China’s increasing role in the Pacific Islands. That editorial attacked Fierravanti-Wells as the “Australian politico” who “shows she still can’t kick (her) offensive habit”.

Noting that Canberra-Beijing ties are “at a new crossroad”, it said Australian politicians should stop throwing mud at China and work harder to generate greater co-­operation with China, noting that it was a “key economic partner”.

The editorials — relayed by an organ seen as closer to the government line than the outspoken Global Times tabloid — raise concerns the “reset” begun by Turnbull is in danger of swinging back on his successor, Scott Morrison.