Australia reviewing Chinese lease on Darwin port

Sydney

AUSTRALIA on Monday said a Chinese company's controversial 99-year-lease on Darwin Port is under review and could be scrapped, opening a new point of friction in relations between Beijing and Canberra.

The lease deal - brokered by local authorities in Australia's Northern Territory - had raised serious concern in Canberra and in Washington, where it was seen as a strategic liability. Darwin is the most important port on Australia's north coast, the closest to Asia and a base for US Marines who rotate in and out of the country. Newly minted defence minister Peter Dutton told the Sydney Morning Herald his department had been asked to "come back with some advice" about the 2015 deal and refused to rule out forcing Chinese firm Landbridge to divest on national security grounds.

The defence review will be carried out and "we can look at options that are in our national interests after that", he said.

Landbridge is owned by Chinese billionaire Ye Cheng.

Any move to scrap the deal is sure to further strain relations between Australia and China which are already in deep crisis. AFP