BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Thursday (November 23) hit back at Australia over its criticisms of China in a foreign policy white paper.
Australia called on Thursday on the United States to build a strong presence in Asia and bolster ties with “like-minded” partners while warning against China’s rising influence.
A more insular United States would be detrimental to the liberal nature of the world’s “rules-based order,” the government said in a 115-page document.
The white paper is a guide for Australian diplomacy and provides a roadmap for advancing its interests.
It highlighted the South China Sea as a “major fault line in the regional order,” and said it was “particularly concerned by the unprecedented pace and scale” of China’s land reclamation and construction activities in the disputed waters.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a regular briefing that the paper was as a whole a positive assessment of China’s development, which he said adhered to the global rules-based order, and of relations between China and Australia.
But Lu said the paper did make “irresponsible remarks” on the South China Sea for which China expressed its concerns.