The Australian government has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on a further 110 individuals in response to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, made up of senior Ukrainian separatists and Russian members of parliament.
The listings include 34 senior members of the Russian-led movements in Ukrainian regions Donetsk and Luhansk, the so-called “People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Donetsk” and “People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Luhansk”. These individuals have violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine through their assertion of governmental authority over areas of Ukraine without the Ukrainian government’s authorisation. The “People’s Republic of Donetsk” and “People’s Republic of Luhansk” do not hold the status of “state” under international law.
Australia also announced listings on a further 76 Members of the State Duma. Some of these additional individuals voted in favour of the resolution calling for President Putin to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, and the majority subsequently voted in favour of ratifying one or both treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the Russian Federation and the so-called “People’s Republics”. One additional Duma member, Oleg Matveichev, has been listed for the dissemination of disinformation and propaganda. As a mouthpiece for President Putin, he even argued disingenuously for the payment of reparations for harm caused by Western sanctions and the war itself.
With these announced listings, the Australian government will have sanctioned 812 individuals and 47 entities in response to Russia’s illegal war. Australia reiterates our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for the people of Ukraine.
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This sets an interesting precedent. Does Taiwan hold the ‘status of “state” under international law’?
The status quo is that both the US and Australia – and every other one of the vast majority of countries that have diplomatic relations with China – recognise that Taiwan is a part of the PRC.
The Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is quite clear about this.
Its website says that with the establishment of diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1972, “Australia’s Joint Communiqué with the PRC recognised the Government of the PRC as China’s sole legal government, and acknowledged the position of the PRC that Taiwan was a province of the PRC”.
It says that “the Australian Government does not recognise the ROC as a sovereign state and does not regard the authorities in Taiwan as having the status of a national government”.
Doesn’t that express “our unwavering support for China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”?
Does this mean that if the Taiwanese authorities declared independence and “violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China through their assertion of governmental authority over areas of China without the Chinese government’s authorisation”, we will place sanctions on them and provide weapons and other support to the PRC?
Has Peter Dutton thought this through?