Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday attacked an image shared by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Twitter and demanded it to be removed in a sharp escalation of Australia's dispute with China. Zhao tweeted a picture created by a Chinese artist depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child to express his strong condemnation of the murder of Afghan civilians and prisoners by Australian armed forces. 

"The Chinese government should be totally ashamed of this post. It diminishes them in the world's eyes," Morrison said. The Sydney Morning Herald labeled it as Morrison's "strongest comments on any Chinese government action since he became prime minister."

The BBC reported there is "credible evidence" that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully slaughtered 39 unarmed people during the Afghan war. Zhao's fierce condemnation of such barbarism is the natural response of anyone who cherishes the value of human life. When the world is denouncing Australian soldiers' atrocity against innocent civilians and unarmed prisoners, Morrison's attack of the Chinese government is an obvious attempt to divert international public attention and shirk the responsibilities of his own government's war crimes. 

Morrison knows very well who massacred the Afghan noncombatants. However with his Machiavellian craftiness he is trying to shift the focus of the international community on an image which purports to censure the egregious atrocity. He is apparently manipulating public opinion and misleading the narrative of the events in Afghanistan.

The Australian troop's ruthless, despicable and cowardly practice of ritualized murder known as the "blooding practice" is the issue that Canberra and the whole country should be "ashamed" of. It "diminishes them in the world's eyes," not China. These Australian combatants deserve the strongest condemnation and due punishment. China, along with the rest of the international community, vigorously denounces such anti-human acts.

Australia and some other Western countries always portray themselves as human rights defenders. They wantonly criticize other countries with the pretext of human rights conditions. It is ironic that when Australian soldiers committed such atrocities, its leadership chose to attack another country's justifiable criticism of it. The truth is these Australian soldiers had no sense of humanity at all. They recklessly deprived of innocent civilians' lives and killed prisoners without any legal procedures, ignoring and disregarding the basic rights of the Afghan people they were supposed to help. 

In a recent report, Australian media outlet Sky News accused China of using war crimes allegations to "fuel horrific anti-Australia propaganda." As a far-right mouthpiece, the media outlet of course won't let go of the chance to rabble rouse and hype itself up in order to create more anti-China sensationalism. 

China and Australia share a comprehensive strategic partnership. China has no reason to incite dissatisfaction with Australia. Australian special forces soldiers have been proven to have murdered up to 39 unarmed men and children in Afghanistan. The findings from the inquiry present horrific demonstrations of war crimes supported by reliable evidence. Facts are facts. Few countries are fanning up anti-Australia propaganda. 

"The decision by an official government spokesman to share the image represents another shift in China's ongoing dispute with Australia that now covers both the trade and defense sectors," said the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday.

China has not "shifted." China has always been a peace-loving country, and condemns any inhuman acts. If any other country commits such shameful and cruel war crimes as what those Australian troops did, China will gravely make due condemnations as well. 

China is reluctant to see China-Australia relations further spiral downward. Canberra needs to make necessary adjustments to its current destructive China policy and steer it back to the right track.  

The author is a professor and director of the Australian Studies Centre, East China Normal University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn