China on Tuesday said Australia should remember Japan’s war crimes during World War II before it approaches Tokyo, with which Canberra signed a landmark security pact in October.
“During World War II, Japan invaded Australia, bombed Darwin, killed Australians and shot Australian prisoners of war,” Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian told reporters.
“Be aware of what might happen in the future. If someone threatens you, they can threaten you again,” he warned.
“China was your friend,” he recalled.
Australia’s centre-left government is trying to mend relations with Beijing, which have suffered significantly under the former Conservative government.
But he also signed a landmark new security pact with Japan, China’s regional rival, in October to counter China’s growing military might.
Japan’s ambassador to Australia told The Australian newspaper this week to remain “vigilant” towards China, a remark that angered Mr Xiao.
The once excellent relations between Beijing and Canberra have deteriorated in recent years.
In 2020, Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of the pandemic, ditching Chinese giant Huawei to build its 5G telecom network.
China, Australia’s largest trading partner, had responded with retaliatory measures targeting imports of more than a dozen Australian products, including coal, wine and barley.
The thaw began in November at the G20 summit in Bali, where Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Mr Xiao acknowledged that trading had been “paused” in recent years but said he was confident it would “return to normal”.