Yesterday, Secretary of DFAT made a complaint to the Chinese Ambassador over a phonecall about the twitter post of Mr. Zhao Lijian. The Ambassador refuted the unwarranted accusations as absolutely unacceptable. Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Hua Chunying clearly stated China’s position on the matter later in the day.

We would like to further stress the following: the rage and roar of some Australian politicians and media is nothing but misreading of and overreaction to Mr. Zhao’s tweet. The accusations made are simply to serve two purposes. One is to deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers. The other is to blame China for the worsening of bilateral ties. There may be another attempt to stoke domestic nationalism.

All of this is obviously not helpful to the resetting of bilateral relationship. It’s our advice that the Australian side face up to the crimes committed by the Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, hold those perpetrators accountable and bring justice to the victims.

And we also urge the Australian side face up to the crux of the current setback of bilateral relationship and take constructive practical steps to help bring it back to the right track.