Australia thinks Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made “serious allegations” on the murder of a pro-Khalistan figure in British Columbia in June, said Foreign Minister Penny Wong in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, while kickstarting her participation in the events around the UN General Assembly in New York. Ms. Wong expressed Canberra’s support for “rule of law” while dealing with such issues and reminded that India is part of the Indo-Pacific region where Australia seeks “strategic equilibrium”.
“Well, the first point I would make is, you know, these are serious allegations and, you know, they are deeply concerning for all of us. I would note, investigations are still under way. So obviously, the Australian government, wishes to wait for those investigations being finalised. But we’ve conveyed our concerns about the allegations and we’ll keep abreast of the developments in these investigations,” said Ms. Wong. The Australian Foreign Minister is in New York where she is likely to engage External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during a meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers.
In response to Ms. Amanpour’s question about the content of Australia’s dialogue with India on the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief and separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, in British Columbia, Ms. Wong said, “Well, we have a general proposition, don’t we Christiane, which is, you know, Australia has a view about the rule of law and we will always express that view,” adding, “We have expressed our view about these issues to our Indian friends.”
India’s global exchanges have been intense in recent months which has highlighted New Delhi’s closeness with the U.S., France, U.K. and Australia as well as the G-20. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia visited India in March and Mr. Modi reciprocated with a visit to Canberra in May. These exchanges were aimed at solidifying India’s relations with the Quad member countries and France where he was the chief guest at the Bastille Day celebrations on July 14. The dispute with Canada has flown into the middle of India’s engagement with Quad which is close to Canada and France which shares common French heritage with Canada. Ms. Wong further said that Australia aspires for a “peaceful, stable and prosperous” world.
“And what is required for that sort of world is, you know, a balance or a strategic equilibrium to which all of us have to make a contribution, and India is a part of that, but so too are other countries of our region in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Ms. Wong.
Canada and Australia along with the U.S., U.K. and New Zealand are members of the Five Eyes Alliance, an alliance for sharing of intelligence among the Anglo-Saxon bloc spread across the world. Prime Minister Trudeau has spoken with U.S. President Joseph Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Macron regarding the murder of Nijjar while Mr. Albanese has refused to confirm if he had a talk with Mr. Trudeau on the issue saying, “I do not send out text messages. I keep those discussions confidential.” However, it is not yet clear if PM Trudeau has shared solid evidence regarding the case with other heads of the western intelligence alliance.
