SYDNEY: China’s ambassador to Canberra has criticised the Australian authorities’s intention to return Darwin Port to local ownership, saying the Chinese language firm operating the strategically positioned northern port shouldn’t be punished.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated in April in the course of the election marketing campaign that his authorities was engaged on a plan to drive the sale of Darwin Port from its Chinese language proprietor on nationwide curiosity grounds.
Australia bought the business port on a 99-year lease to Chinese language firm Landbridge in 2015, a transfer that was criticised by the US president on the time, Barack Obama. Round 2,000 US Marines train for six months of the yr within the northern metropolis.
Ambassador Xiao Qian stated Landbridge Group had invested within the port and contributed to the native financial system, in keeping with an announcement on Sunday (Might 25) by the Chinese language embassy.
“Such an enterprise and undertaking deserves encouragement, not punishment. It’s ethically questionable to lease the port when it was unprofitable after which search to reclaim it as soon as it turns into worthwhile,” the assertion stated.
