Australia PM Malcolm Turnbull defends foreign minister after ex-ambassador to China calls for replacement in scathing article
Geoff Raby, who was Australia’s ambassador to Beijing from 2007 to 2011, says relations with China ‘are now in the freezer’
Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday rejected a former diplomat’s opinion that the country needs a new foreign minister to thaw relations with China.
“Since Australia decided to adopt a policy of strategic mistrust towards China, any resemblance of influence has waned to the point where relations are now in the freezer,” wrote Raby, who now owns a business consultancy in Beijing.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull backed Bishop, the deputy leader of his conservative Liberal Party, who has served as foreign minister since 2013.
“I was disappointed by that article. It’s utterly wrong. Julie Bishop is doing an outstanding job,” Turnbull said.
