Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison today reshuffled his cabinet. As tensions with China rise, Morrison appointed a new trade minister and a high-profile critic of China, previously banned from visiting Beijing, as assistant defense minister.
Australia’s cabinet was reshuffled, with a high-profile anti-China lawmaker serving as assistant defense minister, Central News Agency reported today, citing Reuters news. Reuters said bilateral relations between China and Australia continue to deteriorate, with China taking numerous trade retaliatory measures against Australia after the country restricted foreign investment, enacted legislation to prevent foreign intervention and banned huawei from participating in the construction of its 5G network.
Morrison’s cabinet was reshuffled today, with former Education Minister Dan Tehan moving to become Trade Minister. Morrison said, “In an open, rules-based trading system, Tehan has a keen awareness of the specific interests of Australia’s remote regions.” The former trade minister Birmingham (Simon Birmingham) has been announced in October will be transferred to the finance minister.
In addition, Andrew Hastie, a former member of the Australian Air Service Special Forces (SAS) and currently chair of the House Intelligence Committee, will become assistant defense minister.
According to the report, Hastie leads an informal group of Australian politicians called Wolverine, which has a more vocal anti-communist stance than the Morrison government. Heastie was denied a visit by China in November 2019 because of his strong criticism of the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese embassy said Heathrow should “repent” and had previously denounced Heathrow’s “China threat theory. Heastie’s office declined to comment on the new appointment.
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