Australia PM calls Beijing’s S. China Sea moves ‘counterproductive’
March 23, 2016
Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday called Beijing’s military deployments on the South China Sea “counterproductive”. This was an unusually forceful rebuke towards the country’s biggest trading partner, Reuters said. “They are counterproductive, regardless of the legal merits, on which we do not express a view nor make a claim” Turnbull said in Sydney, referring to China’s military deployments. The PM is expected to visit China next month. Last month, the Chinese government expressed its displeasure with Australia’s new defense spending plan.