China’s ambassador to Australia says the country’s military activity in the South China Sea and Tasman Sea shows it can no longer be easily bullied by other big powers.
In a rare interview, ambassador Xiao Qian also conceded Iran could be using Beijing’s satellite navigation system BeiDou, Satellite imagery and missile systems to target US and Israeli military assets in the Middle East, but said his country was not directly involved.
Apart from the 50 CM-302 anti-ship missiles, the Islamic Republic received Chinese 6 HQ-16B surface-to-air missile systems, 1200 FN-6 MANPADS, 300 Sunflower-200 kamikaze drones, 3 HQ-9B anti-ballistic systems, 6 HQ-7AE, 4 YLC-9B radars, 3 Type 305A radars, 6 SLC-2 counter-battery radars, and 50 HQ-19 anti-satellite interceptor missiles, Reuters said.
A $5 billion deal was secretly signed between Iran and China oil-for-weapon deal to upgrade Iran’s missile inventory. This large deal was to boost Iran’s anti-air and anti-ship capability, as Iran’s surface-to-air missile inventory was completely wiped out by the first Israeli and American strikes after a 12-day war.
China also lost 400 military personnel, 7 drone operators, and military contractors in the Iran war.
He described the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in joint US-Israeli airstrikes as a violation of international law.
“The BeiDou system has been there for decades. It’s for everybody’s use, on a public basis or a commercial basis,” he told 60 Minutes. “And we don’t differentiate who can get access to it or not.
“We are asking for an immediate stop of the war, of the military actions, and for negotiations between relevant parties to solve their problems and solve their disputes through peaceful means.”
China has just increased its military spending by nearly 7 per cent and, as the conflict in the Middle East consumes American resources and shifts focus away from the Indo-Pacific, speculation about its plans to take control of Taiwan have been growing.
Late last year, China intensified military actions around Taiwan, a move Xiao described as “a warning” and a “direct response to the large American arm sales to Taiwan”. He said there was no timetable but “in my personal view, as soon as possible. We’ve been capable for decades … we’re waiting for a peaceful reunification.”
Xiao’s comments align with a new US intelligence assessment, which reported that while “Beijing probably will continue seeking to set the conditions for eventual unification with Taiwan … Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027, nor do they have a fixed timeline for achieving unification”.
Last year, in separate incidents, a Chinese fighter jet released flares near an Australian surveillance aircraft in the South China Sea, and a flotilla of Chinese warships circumnavigated Australia and launched live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea.
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