‘History might repeat itself’: Chinese ambassador warns Australia to be wary of Japan

China’s ambassador to Australia says Canberra should be wary of its relationship with Japan, reminding them that Japanese troops attacked Australia during World War II and could do the same again. “If we forget history, history might repeat itself,” said Xiao Qian, Beijing’s envoy to Australia, in a rare news conference Tuesday at the Chinese Embassy in Canberra. “During the Second World War, Japan invaded Australia, bombed Darwin, killed Australians and treated Australian POWs in a way that was humanly unacceptable,” Xiao said.

The Chinese ambassador also incorrectly claimed that Japan had not apologized for its World War II actions concerning Australia, and could therefore repeat them. Xiao made the comments after a journalist asked about remarks made by the Japanese ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, who said Australia and Japan should remain “vigilant” in relation to China.

“We have to be vigilant because when it comes to policy and strategy, nothing fundamental seems to have changed on their part,” Yamagami said in an interview published in The Australian newspaper Tuesday.

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