Australia's prime minister angrily denounced a "repugnant", "outrageous" and "appalling" tweet from a top Chinese government spokesman Monday and demanded Beijing formally apologise.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian sparked the outrage when he posted a staged image of a man dressed as an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to an Afghan child's throat.

Australian prosecutors are currently investigating 19 members of the country's military in connection with alleged war crimes committed by special forces in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

Morrison called the tweet -- from an official Chinese government account -- an "outrageous and disgusting slur" against the Australian armed forces and called on Twitter to take it down.

"It is utterly outrageous and it cannot be justified on any basis whatsoever. The Chinese government should be totally ashamed of this post," Morrison said of the tweet. "It diminishes them in the world's eyes."

Asked about the tweet at a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying replied: "With Australian soldiers committing such atrocious crimes, shouldn't the Australian government feel ashamed?"

She said Australia should "make a formal apology to the Afghan people", adding that "it is a fact that Australian soldiers brutally slaughtered innocent civilians in Afghanistan".

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said earlier in November that Morrison had called him personally to express his "deepest sorrow" over the allegations.

Relations between Australia and China are in free fall.

China has introduced a string of economic sanctions on Australian goods and state-controlled news outlets have repeatedly attacked Australia over a range of issues.

The ill feeling appears to have been prompted by Canberra's decision to push back on Beijing's growing power in the region, to crack down on Chinese influence operations Down Under and to call for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

"This sort of conduct is not conducive to any relationship," Morrison said of the tweet. "That's why I think it's so important in our mutual interests that this egregious act be dealt with."

- 'Wolf warrior' diplomacy -

The Chinese government spokesman had tweeted that he was "shocked by the murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts, & call for holding them accountable."

China, a one-party authoritarian state, has been accused of systemic, wide-ranging human rights violations for decades, most notably in Tibet and Xinjiang.

The post is the latest example of a new breed of aggressive Chinese government communications with foreign countries, which pundits have termed "wolf warrior" diplomacy.

It comes at a sensitive time, after the Australian government published a damning investigation into allegations its elite troops "unlawfully killed" 39 civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan.

Government investigators have recommended 19 individuals be referred to the police, compensation be paid to the families of victims and that the military carry out reforms.

Last week, the Australian army moved to discharge 13 soldiers for their role in the alleged atrocities and prosecutions are expected.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Russia claims it expelled USS McCain from Peter the Great Gulf
Washington DC (UPI) Nov 24, 2020
Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday that it caught the U.S. Navy destroyer USS John McCain in contested waters in the Sea of Japan and chased the vessel off. The vessel was performing what the Navy described as a freedom of navigation operation, or FONOP, Tuesday in the vicinity of Peter the Great Gulf, which Russia claims as Russian territorial waters, but that the United States considers international waters. The Russian news agency Tass reported that the McCain passed the maritime ... read more