Harris was speaking in December to the Australian think tank the Lowy Institute, which featured his remarks on the front of its website Wednesday.

Harris is widely reported to hold tough positions on China, a country key to both the United States and Australia, both strategically and economically. He is known to have described China's actions in the contested South China Sea as building a “Great Wall of Sand.”

Japan's Kyodo News reported in May that China's ambassador to the U.S. requested that Harris be removed from his command post as a condition for Beijing's help on North Korea. The Washington Post reported that a similar request was made to President-elect Trump's transition team after last year's U.S. elections.

Chinese officials in Washington and Beijing have denied they made such requests.

星期三的媒体报道显示，美国总统川普似乎准备让军队将领出任政府的又一高级职务。

华盛顿邮报援引3位不具名官员的话说，美军太平洋司令部司令哈里·哈里斯可能会被任命为下一届美国驻澳大利亚大使。

提名太平洋司令部最高挂旗军官出任美国驻澳大利亚大使意味着川普政府中又一重要职务很可能将由美国军方最高指挥官之一担任。目前，美国的国防部长、国家安全顾问和白宫办公厅主任都是由现役或退役将军担任的。

华盛顿邮报说，最后决定尚未做出，但是澳大利亚官员说，哈里斯担任美国驻澳大利亚大使，他们会很高兴。

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