China unhappy with New Zealand-Australia statement

The Chinese Embassy says New Zealand and Australia’s recent comments on China are unwarranted and inappropriate, accusing the nations of “inexplicable colonial-style arrogance”.

Recently, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong hosted New Zealand Minister of Defence Judith Collins Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Winston Peters MP on 17 March in Canberra. Also earlier this month, Australia raised concerns with China after an “unsafe and unprofessional” close call between two military helicopters. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two defence ministers also called out China’s behaviour in the South China Sea for being destabilizing and intense. Ministers also expressed concerns about human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, and Hong Kong authorities’ targeting of pro-democracy activists within Hong Kong and overseas.

The embassy said it firmly denied the allegations, stating that those issues are China’s internal affairs and they would not accept international interference. They also blame that both New Zealand and Australia are putting out unwarranted, inappropriate, and extensive comments on China’s internal affairs, quoting the Chinese saying about how ‘one should first ensure one’s own conduct is beyond reproach before criticising others’.