China welcomes reports of India rejecting Aus' request to join naval exercises
China today welcomed India's reported decision to reject Australia's request to join this year's Malabar naval exercises saying the security concerns of the different parties should be taken into account while holding such drills. "I have seen the relevant reports on the refusal made by India for the invitation. I think India is also clear about the consideration behind this behaviour," Hua Chunying told media briefing reacting to a report that India has rejected Australia's request to join as observer to avoid backlash from China. She however did not elaborate on India's "consideration" in rejecting Australia's request to join the naval exercises scheduled to be held in July in the Bay of Bengal. "But I think we are happy to see normal dialogue and communications on security issues. But we also hope that when conducting such operations, the parties can fully consider the security concerns of the different parties and also play a positi