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 Washington's attack on China has given Beijing room to argue that
Australia's request for an independent inquiry is part of a U.S.-led
agenda to blame it for the coronavirus outbreak, the sources said.
Canberra has been caught in a diplomatic squeeze between Washington,
its main security ally, and already strained relations with Beijing,
it major trading partner, even as its successful handling of the
coronavirus has it planning to reopen the economy.
One government source said that officials were working hard to cast
the review as open-minded and global, and that the American approach
of "let's get China" wasn't helping.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, responding to criticisms about
whether an inquiry would hurt trade with China, sought to underscore
Australia's independence during an interview on ABC radio on Friday.
"We're not doing this as some sort of lapdog of the United States,"
he said. "You'll see there are some marked differences between some
of the things that the Australian Government has said and some of
the commentary coming out of the United States and that's because we
take our own analysis, our own evidence, our own advice and we will
take this issue through to the World Health Assembly."
China's foreign ministry has said the calls for an inquiry are
"political manipulation" and said Australia should "give up its
ideological prejudices".
DOSSIER
Last weekend, Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper said a "dossier
prepared by concerned Western governments" showed China had
deliberately suppressed or destroyed evidence of the coronavirus
outbreak.
The report was published shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump
said he had seen evidence the coronavirus came from a laboratory in
Wuhan, the epicentre of the global outbreak.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said there was "a
significant amount of evidence" the virus came from the Wuhan
laboratory, although he has also said there wasn't certainty.
Government and intelligence officials said the document the article
referred to was a compilation of public reports and newspaper
articles, and was not based on intelligence sources.
"It's a research paper. I can tell you, we aren't paying much
attention to it," an intelligence source said.
No public evidence has linked the outbreak to the lab in Wuhan, and
scientists have said the coronavirus appears to have developed in
nature.
Australia shares intelligence with the United States under the "Five
Eyes" arrangement which also includes Canada, Britain and New
Zealand.
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An official familiar with the 15-page document cited in the article told Reuters
it was American, appeared to be designed to gather support for the U.S.
position, and wasn't a piece of intelligence work.
The document included bullet points describing ways in which China hadn't been
transparent in dealing with the coronavirus, sourced to newspaper articles and
other claims already in the public domain, the official said.
There was no input from Australian agencies into the document, the source said.
Australian media have reported concerns that the U.S. embassy in Canberra may
have been the source of the document. The U.S. embassy declined to comment when
contacted by Reuters.
"The Australians are pushing for reform at the World Health Assembly; this
doesn't help those efforts. You can understand their frustration," said one
Western diplomat, who declined to be named as the diplomat, like the other
government and intelligence sources, is not authorised to talk to the media.
TENSE TIES
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly said that he has seen no evidence
to support the theory the virus came from a lab, and that the most likely source
was a wildlife market in Wuhan. He said the goal was to know how to prevent
another outbreak.
"It's not directed at anyone, we just want to know what happened so it doesn't
happen again," Morrison said on Friday, when asked whether the U.S. focus on the
Wuhan lab theory was counterproductive.
"It's a pretty honest question, with an honest intent and an honest motive. And
I'm seeing more and more support for that position," he said, referring to
Australia's goals.
Morrison wrote to G20 leaders this week seeking support for an independent
inquiry. The European Union will raise the issue at the World Health Assembly
this month.
Australia hopes that if there is wide international support for an independent
investigation, China will cooperate.
But China is Australia's largest trading partner, and an already fraught
diplomatic relationship has become more strained by the push for an inquiry.
China's ambassador warned last month that Chinese consumers could boycott
Australian products, which the government said was a threat of economic
coercion.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham and Colin Packham. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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