Recently, the Philippines, which has repeatedly hit a wall in the South China Sea, has sought outside assistance. Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines will participate in the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne from March 4 to 6, the Philippines said. During this period, the Philippines and Australia will discuss the South China Sea.
We are no stranger to the Philippines looking for someone to support the field, but this time the Philippines seems to be looking for the wrong person, Australia just visited China at the end of last year, and now under the guidance of the bilateral strategy, China-Australia relations continue to improve, economic and trade cooperation has stabilized and improved, showing strong resilience. In addition, the Australian side is still seeking help from China in several aspectsThe request put forward by the Philippine side has also made it difficult for the Australian side, which is not easy for Australia to help.
Ferdinand Marcos, Philippines).
Regarding Marcos Jr.'s attendance at the summit, Daniel Espiritu, assistant secretary in charge of ASEAN affairs in the Philippines, said that the Philippines was invited by Australian Prime Minister Albanese to attend, and this summit will provide a platform for the PhilippinesDemonstrate the Philippines' core position on regional and international issues.
And Espiritu said Marcos is expected to attend the Leaders' Plenary and Leaders' Retreat, the two main events of the ASEAN-Australia summit on March 6. At that time, Marcos will thank Australia for its support and compliance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the South China Sea.
Frankly speaking, as one of the members of ASEAN, the Philippines is understandable for Australia to invite the Philippines to attend the meeting, but the Philippine side's remarks are somewhat imposing itself on adding to the show. In fact, the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit was not intended to be a summit dedicated to the South China SeaAustralia is also not a party to the South China Sea issue, and the Philippines' current idea is to unilaterally steer the summit to the South China Sea issue, which is a bit noisy in setting the agenda.
The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit is held every two years).
The Philippine side also explained why it mentioned the South China Sea issue, saying that the South China Sea issue must be mentioned given that the Philippines has a "strong" defense and security relationship with Australia, and that Australia and the Philippines are both maritime states.
But this makes it difficult for Australia, which became ASEAN's first dialogue partner when the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit was held in Laos in 2016 and is held every two years. The summit is mainly a meeting that hopes to strengthen regional cooperation and focus on common interests.
And Australia is a country that is actually more pragmatic from a strategic point of view. In terms of security and defense, although cooperation with the United Kingdom and the United States has been increased, it is more understandable that it is a pragmatic action to ensure that the United States is the best.
In the field of economy and **, this is what Australia values most in recent years, although Australia has a certain diplomatic and ** friction with China, but Australia is still a country that actively participates in the worldAustralia** is also actively opening up the situation with China under the leadership of AlbaneseIt has also signed Freedom** Agreements (FTAs) with a number of countries and regions. Australia is also making its economy more open and competitive by participating in multilateral systems such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Albanese's visit to China).
And Australia has recently turned to China. Australian Minister Farrell has just held talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and the two sides are close to reaching an agreement. This time, the Australian side very much hopes that China can remove the last obstacle to the export of Australian wine to China. In 2021,China's Ministry of Commerce has decided to impose anti-dumping duties on import-related wines originating in AustraliaIn order to avoid double taxation, no countervailing duty is levied. The anti-dumping duty will be implemented for 5 years from March 28, 2021.
The Australian side has now applied for a review of Australian wines by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, and the relevant restrictions will be lifted based on the results of the review.
And China has always been one of Australia's most important partners, especially in the areas of mineral resources, education services and agricultural products. We can even see that in the years when Sino-Australian relations fell into a trough, Australia's overall economic growth slowed down, and between China and AustraliaAustralia is also very dependent on Chinese products, including machinery and equipment, electronics, textiles, etc, and these have also led to an increase in the cost of the ** chain of Australian enterprises.
Therefore, Australia has now adopted a more pragmatic attitude towards China, actively opening up a situation of cooperation with China, and maintaining bilateral relations between China and Australia.
Australia is rich in wine).
In Australia's view, the South China Sea issue is not Australia's core interest, Australia is not a party to the country, although Australia was one of the few countries that supported the farce of the "South China Sea Arbitration" at the beginning, but there are also reasons for Australia to pander to the United States.
Today, Australia and China are in a good direction in the economic and trade fieldThere is no need to over-promise the Philippines on the South China Sea issue. Australia is well aware of the contradictions or differences in the South China Sea between China and the countries concerned, and no third party has the right to intervene. It is likely that Australia is also willing to allow the relevant parties to the South China Sea issue to properly handle their differences through dialogue and consultation, so as to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
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