The United States and Australia issued a joint statement announcing that the United States will expand its military presence in Australia, and the statement accuses China of Taiwan, Hong Kong, South China Sea and Xinjiang and other issues related to China.
The foreign ministers and defense ministers of the United States and Australia issued a joint statement on September 16, stating that the United States will expand its military presence in Australia, including aircraft rotation, maintenance of naval vessels, and strengthening of ground exercises.
The heads of the foreign and defense departments of the United States and Australia issued this statement after consultations in Washington.
The statement said, "Committed to making significant progress in the deployment of forces between the United States and Australia."
The United States and Australia intend to solve this task through the following aspects, including the rotation of "U.S. aircraft of various models" in Australia, the development of the material and technical support infrastructure for U.S. surface ships and submarines, and the holding of "more comprehensive and integrated exercises" for ground forces.
The statement also mentioned that the military departments of the two countries plan to cooperate in the field of space satellites.
Statement on the issue of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan
According to information published on the website of the US State Department, the joint statement expresses its views on a series of China-related issues such as the South China Sea, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The joint statement emphasizes the importance of the ability of countries to exercise maritime rights and freedoms in the South China Sea. It stated that the United States and Australia have continued to be concerned about China’s "expansive maritime claims without legal basis" in the South China Sea. Party is legally binding.
In the joint statement, the United States and Australia emphasized Taiwan's important role in the Indo-Pacific region.
Both sides expressed their intention to strengthen relations with Taiwan, saying that Taiwan is a leading democracy and an important cooperative partner of the two countries.
The United States and Australia reiterated in the joint statement that they continue to support the peaceful settlement of cross-strait issues without resorting to threats or coercion.
On September 16, 2021, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne (second from left), Australian Minister of Defense Peter Dutton (first from left), US Secretary of State Blinken (antony Blinken, second from right), and US Secretary of Defense Austin ( Lloyd Austin, first from right) speaks at a press conference held by the State Department in Washington.
(AP)
Regarding the human rights issue in Xinjiang, the joint statement stated that the United States and Australia have expressed serious concerns about China’s "suppression of Uyghur and other religious and ethnic minority movements" in Xinjiang.
The United States and Australia once again call on China to allow independent international observers, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to enter Xinjiang urgently, meaningfully, and unrestricted.
In response to the Hong Kong issue, the United States and Australia stated in a joint statement that they continue to express concern about the "corruption of Hong Kong's autonomous and democratic systems and procedures."
The United States and Australia believe that China's implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong has fundamentally undermined the "one country, two systems" framework.
"The People's Republic of China is urged to abide by the binding commitments made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration."
Chinese response
The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Australia made a statement on the US-Australia Joint Statement on September 17.
The spokesperson said that China firmly opposes and rejects the unfounded accusations and wrong statements made by the Australia-US Double Ministerial Council on a series of China-related issues involving the South China Sea, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
"The relevant remarks ignore the facts, violate international law and the basic norms of international relations, and grossly interfere in China's internal affairs. This kind of tricks that try to pressure China will only laugh at generosity and will not succeed."
The spokesperson stated that China urges Australia to abandon the outdated Cold War zero-sum mentality and narrow geopolitical concepts, to be able to handle relations with China truly independently, and not to go further and further on the road of harming China-Australia relations. Doing more will benefit the two countries. Mutual trust and promotion of pragmatic cooperation.