China’s ambassador warns Australia on buyback of key port
China’s companies will act to defend their interests if Australia regains control of the strategic northern port of Darwin by force, the Beijing ambassador has warned.
China’s Landbridge group was granted a 99-year lease on the port in 2015; This was a widely criticized decision that led to greater scrutiny of infrastructure sales.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year vowed to buy back control and criticized the lease as shortsighted for both economic and national security reasons.
Ambassador Xiao Qian told Australian media on Wednesday that if Landbridge is forced to give up its lease, “then we have an obligation to take measures to protect the interests of the Chinese company – this is our position.”
“We will see that it is time for us to say something, to do something to reflect the position of the Chinese government and to protect the legitimate interests of our Chinese companies,” he said.
The ambassador warned that regaining control of the port could affect Chinese companies’ investment, cooperation and trade with the Darwin region.
“And that’s not in Australia’s interests.”
Australia’s prime minister said his government had already made clear it was opposed to the sale of the port to “non-Australian interests”.
“We are determined to ensure that the port falls into Australian hands because it is in our national interest,” he told reporters during a visit to Timor-Leste on Wednesday.
Darwin is located closest to Australia’s Asian neighbors and was used as a base for the US Marines.
At the time the agreement was signed, then-US President Barack Obama reportedly complained that Washington had not been notified of Australia’s plan to do business with Landbridge.
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