BEIJING: Beijing on Sunday said Canberra had “deliberately hyped” recent Chinese naval exercises near the Australian coast and confirmed its forces had used live fire in an incident that rattled Australian policymakers.
Authorities in Australia and close ally New Zealand have been monitoring three Chinese navy vessels spotted in recent days in international waters of the nearby Tasman Sea.
Canberra said Saturday it had not yet received a satisfactory explanation from Beijing for Friday’s drill, which saw the Chinese ships broadcast a live-fire warning that caused commercial planes to change course.
China’s defense ministry hit back on Sunday, saying the “relevant remarks of the Australian side are completely inconsistent with facts,” while also confirming the use of live ammunition.
“During the period, China organized live-fire training of naval guns toward the sea on the basis of repeatedly issuing prior safety notices,” Wu Qian, a spokesman for the defense ministry, said in a statement.
Wu added that China’s actions were “in full compliance with international law and international practices, with no impact on aviation flight safety.”
“Australia, while well aware of this, made unreasonable accusations against China and deliberately hyped it up,” said Wu, adding that Beijing was “astonished and strongly dissatisfied.”
The altercation threatens to complicate the relationship between Beijing and Canberra, which has gradually warmed under Australia’s Labor government.
Ties were derailed nearly a decade ago due to concerns in Australia about Chinese influence in local politics, followed by a 2018 ban on tech giant Huawei from Australia’s 5G network.
Earlier this month, Canberra rebuked Beijing for “unsafe” military conduct, accusing a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares near an Australian air force plane patrolling the South China Sea.
China said at the time that the Australian plane had “deliberately intruded into the airspace around China’s Xisha Islands,” using Beijing’s name for the Paracel Islands, adding that its “measures to expel the aircraft were legitimate, legal, professional and restrained.”
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Beijing accuses Australia of ‘hyping’ China naval live fire drills
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Beijing accuses Australia of ‘hyping’ China naval live fire drills
- Beijing on Sunday said Canberra had “deliberately hyped” recent Chinese naval exercises near the Australian coast and confirmed its forces had used live fire in an incident
De-escalate in Ethiopia’s Tigray before ‘too late’: UN rights chief
- The United Nations rights chief called Tuesday on all parties in the conflicts in Ethiopia to urgently de-escalate amid a precarious situation in the Tigray region
GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief called Tuesday on all parties in the conflicts in Ethiopia to urgently de-escalate amid a precarious situation in the Tigray region.
Recent clashes between the Ethiopian army and regional forces in Tigray highlight the risk of a return to full conflict and a deepening of the human rights crisis in the northern region, Volker Turk warned.
“The situation remains highly volatile, and we fear it will further deteriorate, worsening the region’s already precarious human rights and humanitarian situation,” he said in a statement.
“There must be concerted and sustained efforts by all parties, with the help of the international community, to de-escalate tensions before it is too late.”
The UN rights chief insisted “political dialogue and confidence-building measures are urgently needed — not renewed resort to armed violence.”
The renewed tensions risk a return to conflict following a war between Ethiopian forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that the African Union says killed at least 600,000 people before it ended in late 2022.
More than one million civilians remain internally displaced since the civil war, the UN rights office said.
It voiced deep concern over hostilities that intensified late last month between the Ethiopian military and the regional Tigray Security Forces (TSF) in Tsemlet, western Tigray, an area claimed by forces from the neighboring Amhara region.
The TSF withdrew from the area on February 1.
The rights office highlighted that drones, artillery and other powerful weapons were used by both sides, and both sides engaged in arrests and detentions, Turk saying these activities “must stop.”
In the south and southeast of the Tigray region, near the Afar border, clashes are also continuing between the TSF and rival faction the Tigray Peace Forces.
“Both sides must step back from the brink and work to resolve their differences through political means,” Turk said.
He demanded that all allegations of serious violations and abuses “be promptly and independently investigated, irrespective of the perpetrators.”
Recent clashes between the Ethiopian army and regional forces in Tigray highlight the risk of a return to full conflict and a deepening of the human rights crisis in the northern region, Volker Turk warned.
“The situation remains highly volatile, and we fear it will further deteriorate, worsening the region’s already precarious human rights and humanitarian situation,” he said in a statement.
“There must be concerted and sustained efforts by all parties, with the help of the international community, to de-escalate tensions before it is too late.”
The UN rights chief insisted “political dialogue and confidence-building measures are urgently needed — not renewed resort to armed violence.”
The renewed tensions risk a return to conflict following a war between Ethiopian forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that the African Union says killed at least 600,000 people before it ended in late 2022.
More than one million civilians remain internally displaced since the civil war, the UN rights office said.
It voiced deep concern over hostilities that intensified late last month between the Ethiopian military and the regional Tigray Security Forces (TSF) in Tsemlet, western Tigray, an area claimed by forces from the neighboring Amhara region.
The TSF withdrew from the area on February 1.
The rights office highlighted that drones, artillery and other powerful weapons were used by both sides, and both sides engaged in arrests and detentions, Turk saying these activities “must stop.”
In the south and southeast of the Tigray region, near the Afar border, clashes are also continuing between the TSF and rival faction the Tigray Peace Forces.
“Both sides must step back from the brink and work to resolve their differences through political means,” Turk said.
He demanded that all allegations of serious violations and abuses “be promptly and independently investigated, irrespective of the perpetrators.”
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