After US, Australia Announces Diplomatic Boycott Of Beijing Winter Olympics

Australia has followed the United States in diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympic games being held in Beijing, the capital city of China.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday (8 December) said that his country's officials will not be attending the Beijing winter olympics.

He said it should come as "no surprise" that Australian diplomats and politicians would boycott the event, citing the breakdown in the relationship with China in recent years.

Canberra's decision comes amid “disagreement” with China over a number of issues, including Australia's foreign interference laws and a recent decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Morrison said, reports Hindustan Times.

Morrison said Beijing's own diplomatic freeze on Australia had also fed into the decision for officials to boycott the Games, because Australia had been unable to raise its concerns about human rights directly with Chinese leaders.

"We have been .. very happy to talk to the Chinese government about these issues and there has been no obstacle to that occurring on our side," Morrison said.

"But the Chinese government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet about those issues," he added.

"So it's not surprising therefore that Australian government officials would not be going to China for those Games," Morrison was quoted by the ABC News.

However, Australian athletes would compete at the Games despite the diplomatic boycott.