Fishing in troubled waters of no help to Australia

At the end of one of the country's longest and closest elections in half a century, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared victory on Sunday. His stay in power could be a good omen for China-Australia ties, which gathered robust momentum after their historic free trade deal came into effect at the end of last year.

To continue to maintain that momentum in bilateral interactions, Turnbull needs to be politically pragmatic and flexible, especially because the South China Sea issue has put him to immediate test. The South China Sea disputes between China and some of its Southeast Asian neighbors should not have become a concern for Australia had it stayed true to its claim of neutrality.

But just one day after the arbitral tribunal passed an utterly one-sided ruling in the case initiated by the Philippines against China in the South China Sea dispute, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told ABC Radio that China's reputation would suffer if it ignores the ruling, and called on both Beijing and Manila to respect it.