‘Weakness is provocative’: Alexander Downer calls on Wong to ‘remonstrate’ Chinese Ambassador
Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has called on Foreign Minister Penny Wong to call in the Chinese Ambassador and “remonstrate” him about the flare stunt on Saturday because “weakness is provocative”.
‘Weakness is provocative’: Alexander Downer calls on Wong to ‘remonstrate’ Chinese Ambassador
A Chinese fighter jet dropped flares in front of an Australian Navy helicopter in international waters off the coast of South Korea on Saturday evening.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has labelled the incident ‘both unsafe and unprofessional’.
“This comes on top of the mess that they made on those sonar attacks on Australian sailors in the South China Sea,” Mr Downer told Sky News host Chris Kenny.
“The trouble is weakness is provocative.
“In a situation like this, it is essential that, at the very least, the Foreign Minister calls in the Chinese Ambassador and remonstrates about this behaviour towards the helicopter.
“It’s completely wrong for China to have threatened the security of that helicopter and its crew.”