Britain had promised 25 million pounds to strengthen security in the Indo-Pacific region.
Sydney:
Britain committed £25 million ($34 million) to bolster security in the Indo-Pacific as part of a deal with Australia, and leaders of the two countries agreed with China’s policies in its far western region of Xinjiang. expressed “serious concern” about
In a video call on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison also called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and warned Russia against attacking Ukraine.
“They agreed on the need to de-escalate tensions and underlined that the Russian incursion into Ukraine would be a major strategic mistake and would have a huge human cost,” the leaders said in a joint statement after their meeting.
Morrison and Johnson said the funds committed for the Indo-Pacific Security Agreement will strengthen regional resilience in areas including cyberspace, state threats and maritime security.
The bilateral talks come a week after Australia, the United States, Japan and India’s so-called Quad grouping pledged to deepen cooperation to free the Indo-Pacific region from “coercion”, a threat to China’s economic and economic development. There is a thin hidden link. military expansion.
Johnson and Morrison expressed “serious concern about credible reports of human rights violations in Xinjiang, and called on China to defend Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms and a high degree of autonomy.”
The United States accused China of genocide and abuses, including forced and prison labor, of minority Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang. China denies the allegations.
China imposed a comprehensive national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, a move critics said was greater freedoms promised under the “one country, two systems” framework when the former British colony was under Chinese rule in 1997. I had returned.
Morrison and Johnson also “emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, and expressed support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.”
China claims Taiwan. Taiwan has complained of frequent intrusions by China’s air force into its air defense sector, part of what Taipei says is a pattern of harassment by Beijing.
British and Australian leaders also stressed the importance of maritime rights and freedoms in the South China Sea, saying they “strongly oppose any unilateral action that could escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and militarisation, International rules-based order including coercion”. , and threats.”
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