Australia China Tensions | Latest Burning Issue

Table of Contents

LOT OF PRIME MINISTERS

Australia has had 6 prime ministers in the last 8 years The trend of consistent coups began in June 2010, when then-prime minister Kevin Rudd’s deputy, Julia Gillard, called a challenge and gained enough support from Labor Party MPs to take his job.

NOTES

One reason Australia seemingly has a revolving door for prime ministers is because of the nature of its parliamentary system. That statistic has won Australia the title of “coup capital of the Pacific” in some quarters.

WHAT HAPPENED TO TURNBULL?

Turnbull was facing mounting hostility from his own party over poor public support, leading to a
struggle for power

BAD NEWS FOR CHINA?

The election of Scott Morrison as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia on Friday is unlikely to lead to a major shift in Canberra’s vitally important, yet often tense relationship with China. Under Turnbull, Morrison was a key member of the government responsible for introducing new foreign interference laws earlier this year that have strained relations with Beijing.

CHINESE COMPANIES BLOCKED

Morrison, while carrying out a brief stint as acting minister for home affairs, announced that Chinese telecom firm Huawei would be barred from Australia’s 5G network.

CHINA’S REACTION

China’s ministry of commerce slammed the decision as an example of the Australian government interfering in legitimate business, calling on Canberra “to look at the big picture of bilateral economic and trade cooperation”.

AUSTRALIA–CHINA RELATIONS

Australia has been among the firmest opponents of China’s territorial claims to the South China Sea. In July 2016, following the ruling by an international tribunal which held that China holds “no historical rights” to the South China Sea based on the “nine-dash line” map,Australia issued a joint statement with Japan and the United States calling for China to abide by the ruling, as “final and legally binding on both parties.”