China’s Global Times newspaper, a subsidiary of the People’s Daily, ran a fiery editorial last week criticising Australia’s position of opposing China’s claims to vast swathes of the South China Sea, including islands on which the country has been building military installations.
“China must take revenge and let it know it's wrong. Australia's power means nothing compared to the security of China,” the editorial said.
“If Australia steps into the South China Sea waters, it will be an ideal target for China to warn and strike,” the paper warned.
China has been attempting to assert sovereignty over a number of islands and their maritime boundaries by building ports and landing strips. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan dispute the Chinese claims, along with Australia and the United States, among others.
Last month, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, based in The Hague, ruled that China’s claim to historic ownership of waters in the South China Sea were illegitimate. The case had been brought by the Philippines.
Protesters hold a rally against China's territorial claims in the Spratlys group of islands in the South China Sea in front of the Hague court on July 12, 2016. Source: AAP Image, NEWZULU
“Around the announcement of the arbitration tribunal over the South China Sea, Australia was one of the most delirious countries,” the paper said.
Australia called for China to abide by the ruling and uphold international law. "Adherence to international law is the foundation for peace, stability and prosperity in East Asia, as it has been for many years," a statement by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said at the time.
But the Global Times says Australia is trying to walk both sides of the street, reaping the benefits of a strong trade relationship with China while attacking the country at the behest of stronger allies.
“It lauds Sino-Australian relations when China's economic support is needed, but when it needs to please Washington, it demonstrates willingness of doing anything in a show of allegiance,” the paper said.
Calling Australia a “‘paper cat’ at best”, the paper says the country has taken a uniquely strident position on the issue.
Construction at Mabini Reef by China, in the disputed Spratley Islands, in the south China Sea . Source: AAP
“At a time when its former caretaker country the UK is dedicated to developing relations with China, and almost the whole of Europe takes a neutral position, Australia has unexpectedly made itself a pioneer of hurting China's interest with a fiercer attitude than countries directly involved in the South China Sea dispute,” the editorial read. “But this paper cat won't last,” it added.
The newspaper also sought to take aim at Australia’s history to discredit it, calling it a “unique country with an inglorious history.”
“It was at first an offshore prison of the UK and then became its colony, a source of raw materials, overseas market and land of investment. This country was established through uncivilised means, in a process filled with the tears of the aboriginals [sic],” the editorial said.
Australian diplomats and politicians are likely to take special notice of the editorial, given it’s a state owned publication. Chinese President, Xi Jinping, recently made a point of saying his office is a subscriber.
Land reclamation of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, May 2015. Source: AP Photo
Writing in yesterday, Lowy Institute Fellow Peter Cai said the paper’s parent, the People’s Daily, was a principle propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party.
“While this implies a degree of official sanction, it is difficult to measure the extent to which Global Times represents the official position of the Chinese government,” he wrote.
“The publication's bellicose editorials do echo from time to time Beijing’s increasingly assertive foreign policy stance,” Cai wrote.
Mr Cai said the Global Times was viewed as a thermometer of public opinion, and provided a vent for Beijing to blow out nationalist steam.
“One of the KPIs for Global Times is how many times it gets cited in foreign press, so editors often use colourful and outrageous language to attract foreign media’s attention,” according to one reporter.
Editorials in the Global Times are more hawkish, and don’t necessarily represent the government’s official line, according to those Mr Cai spoke with.
