China may use force if the US proceeds with its plan to sail within 12 miles of a reclaimed island in the South China Sea. Australia, which previously supported the American plan, said it wouldn’t be part of it.
“We wouldn’t participate in any surveillance or whatever other activities the United States might have talked about,”Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said on Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg. He was commenting on the Pentagon’s plan to test China’s resolve to protect the waters around its artificial islands.
“On that issue, we’re not taking sides,” Robb added.
而前一天，澳洲不长还说，将肩并肩地与美国在同一页上
Speaking alongside Carter, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the two countries were “on the same page” on the issue. That statement was apparently undermined by the trade minister’s latest remark.
