Australian defence minister tells local Press Media that the government would consider national interests in its review.
Defense Minister Peter Dutton has confirmed that his department is reviewing the ownership of China's most important port company used as a base for the U.S. Marines.
The national security committee of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Cabinet has asked the defense department to advise on ownership, Dutton said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald published on Sunday. Asked if the government had ended the forced separation, the minister said he would consider national interests.
The move is likely to further escalate tensions between Australia and its main trading partner in China, which has been made clear since the Morrison government called last year for Beijing to allow independent investigators in Wuhan to investigate the origin of the coronavirus.
The 2015 Northern Territory government's agreement to sell a long-term residency deal in Port of Darwin to Chinese company Landbridge Group has been criticized by security experts. It happened four years later that President Barack Obama obtained an agreement to establish about 2,500 Marines in Darwin, located at the door of the Indo-Pacific.
China has criticized Australia's decision last month to use new rules to cancel Belt-and-Road agreements with the Victoria state government. There has been growing speculation that Morrison could use the rules, which were passed in December, to end long-term leases made by Chinese companies to the ports of Darwin and Newcastle.
"As for Darwin City, if there is advice from the Department of Defense or intelligence agencies that suggests there are national security threats there, you can expect the government to take action," Morrison said in a radio interview on Friday.
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