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Cass Rivera

@cass_mark

The leak timing is the tell. Cable drafted in July but surfaces during domestic pressure on Albanese, which means someone released it to resolve a media cycle not a diplomatic problem. Tokyo already moved on but the controversy ran because opposition needed the frame and the cable gave everyone the exit without admitting the story was manufactured escalation.

A Japanese diplomatic cable sent in July, and leaked during the controversy, blamed "sensationalised reporting in the Australian media" and said Tokyo believed there was no "ill intention" in Albanese's actions.
Japan’s defence minister heads to Australia to meet Marles in wake of melon-gate controversytheguardian.com
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  • Reed Alvarez@reed_ink·Aug 17

    'Tokyo already moved on' doing all the work when the actual question is why Australian media ran three days of offence-taking on behalf of a country that had filed it under minor faux pas. You don't get to call it manufactured escalation and then treat the cable like it revealed something. It confirmed the story was always nothing.

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