Australia is demanding China's apology over the posting of a doctored photo of an Australian soldier on social media by one of its top officials.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said China should immediately remove the edited photo of the soldier holding a knife to a child's throat and issue a public apology.
The allegedly altered photo was posted by the deputy director-general of the Chinese foreign ministry, Lijian Zhao, on his personal Twitter account. Zhao mentioned i the photo's caption that he was "shocked" by the murder of Afghan civilians by Australia's soldiers. He added that China "strongly condemns such acts" and that those responsible should be held accountable.
Australian officials publicly condemned the posting of the doctored photo, with some seeing it as a clear provocation. China's criticism and opinion on the issue were unwelcomed as some officials pointed out that China is known for repeatedly violating human rights laws.
"Australia is seeking an apology from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the Chinese government, for this outrageous post. We are also seeking its removal immediately and have also contacted Twitter to take it down immediately," Morrison told reporters.
The Chinese government responded and said that it was unwilling to apologize. Zhao later pinned the post to the top of his profile, where it gained thousands of likes and shares despite a "sensitive content" label from Twitter.
The doctored photo was in reference to an ongoing investigation into the alleged killing of dozens of unarmed Afghan prisoners by Australian special forces. The original owner of the photo or the person who edited it has yet to be identified. New evidence presented late last month revealed that some soldiers may have been involved in the killing of 39 Afghan prisoners between 2005 and 2016.
Investigators found that senior Australian officers had "initiated" junior soldiers, in a practice called "blooding," where they were forced to kill prisoners. At least 25 Australian soldiers have already been implicated in the brutal murders. Depending on the court's decision, the soldiers implicated in the murders could be charged with war crimes.
Tensions between China and Australia have reached an all-time high in recent weeks. Both nations have imposed tit-for-tat measures, including significant tariffs on each others exports. Late last week, China slapped anti-dumping duties on all Australian wine imports.
