United Kingdom hits back at Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong trends now
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The United Kingdom has hit back at Penny Wong's suggestion Britain needs to do more to confront its colonial past, saying history cannot be eradicated or erased.
Earlier this week, Senator Wong gave a speech to Kings College, where she spoke about her own family's history of British colonialism, and said that only by acknowledging the past could the UK truly seek to modernise its relationships, particularly with Indo-Pacific countries.
'Such stories can sometimes feel uncomfortable – for those whose stories they are, and for those who hear them. But understanding the past enables us to better share the present and the future,' she said.
The UK's Foreign Minister James Cleverly rejected suggestions, saying the former colonial power was conscious of it in its dealings.
Following ministerial meetings in Portsmouth on Thursday (UK time), Mr Cleverly said the pair had discussed 'the nature of the relationship between the UK and other countries which are now in the Commonwealth but which were previously British colonies'.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong (pictured) has urged the UK to confront its colonial past in the Indo-Pacific
'(But) these were not the mainstay of the conversations we've been having,' he said.
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