Scott Morrison has demanded an official apology from China, but what the Australian prime minister should really do is say thank you to the Chinese. Last week, Canberra was still in crisis management mode after its military admitted its soldiers had committed war crimes in Afghanistan, a shocking revelation that has generated news headlines around the world. Then, being ever so helpful, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian sent an inflammatory tweet showing a meme of an Australian soldier apparently trying to kill a child. That was the godsend Morrison needed to jump on his high horse as he denounced the tweet as “falsified”, “repugnant” and “utterly outrageous”. Suddenly, the whole focus of the story and the conversation shifted. It’s no longer about Australian soldiers killing civilians and prisoners, but Chinese state propaganda and the larger diplomatic meltdown. Beijing could have just sat tight and let the Australians stew. However, the new “wolf warrior” protocol demands not only that something be said, but also the more inflammatory the better. So now, not only has Zhao doubled down, but the entire foreign ministry is escalating the whole spat into another confrontation. WeChat blocks Australia PM’s message over China’s war crimes tweet Canberra’s “Five Eyes” allies may not care much about atrocities committed by Australian troops. The Americans have imposed sanctions against the chief prosecutor and personnel, including their family members, of the International Criminal Court after it announced a formal probe into alleged war crimes committed by US troops, again in Afghanistan. However, they couldn’t very well defend the Australians. Now they can, as China’s wolf warriors have provided a perfect excuse for them to change the narrative. The murders of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners were committed by Australian special forces troops between 2009 and 2013 across 23 separate incidents. That should have been the focus of the international community and world media. Instead, everyone now talks about Zhao’s offending meme, and how outrageous Beijing has been in backing him. As a senior foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao is the alpha male of the wolf warrior pack. His Twitter antics rival those of outgoing US President Donald Trump. Sometimes they work; other times, they just cause more unnecessary furore. This time, though, with the Australians, he has definitely misfired. The longer Beijing drags out the controversy, the sooner people forget about Australia’s war crimes. How could Morrison not be thankful?
