CEO
former Australian citizen Rupert Murdoch, News Corp:
The
Australian,
14 March 2023
‘It’s
more than one plus one plus one’,
from
the pen of Canberra Bureau Chief Joe Kelly
…..“The
sum of the three is more than one plus one plus one in this case,”
Mr Albanese said.
“And
I think that the co-operation we’ve had is really exciting. “We
see that this is an investment in our capability. At the same time,
of course, we’re investing in our relationships in the region as
well.
“And
I’ve been talking with other leaders in the region, as well,
explaining our position. And it’s been well-received and understood
why we’re doing this. It builds on our long-term relationship.”
Mr Sunak said the deal was “about our commitment to the Pacific
region, which, even though it’s geographically a long way from
where we are, it’s important in a way to demonstrate our commitment
to the values that we hold dear as countries.” Mr Albanese began
his day with a walk alongside Chief of Navy Mark Hammond, declaring:
“It’s a new dawn in San Diego, and it will be a new dawn in
Australian defence policy tomorrow.” Before his trip to the US for
the AUKUS announcement, Mr Sunak expressed concern about China’s
future direction and role in the international system.
“It’s
a country with fundamentally different values to ours, and I think
over the last few years it’s become increasingly authoritarian at
home and assertive abroad,” the British Prime Minister was quoted
as saying in a report in The Wall Street Journal.
“It’s
behaviour suggests it has the intention – but also its actions show
it is interested in reshaping the world order. And that’s the crux
of it.” Mr Sunak told The Wall Street Journal that threats to
security were increasing. “The world has become a more volatile
place,” he said. “What we need to do as allies is out-cooperate
and out-compete our adversaries.” …..
‘Epoch-defining
challenge’,
from
the pen of North Asia correspondent Will Glasgow
The
hugely expensive project to acquire “world-leading” nuclear
submarine capability – likely to cost hundreds of billions of
dollars – is a key plank in the response by America and its allies
to the massive build-up of the capabilities of China’s People’s
Liberation Army over the past decade. Beijing last week further
ramped up military spending by more than 7 per cent to more than
$330bn. There is widespread support for the AUKUS project in Taipei.
Lo Chih-Cheng, a member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party,
said Taiwan’s government saw the security pact as part of a crucial
effort to change Beijing’s calculus on ever using force in an
attempt to bring the self-ruled island under Communist Party rule.
“Your
decision to acquire nuclear submarines and to build up strength in
your defence capabilities is conducive to redressing the imbalance
that is happening now in the region,” said Mr Lo, a government
member of Taiwan’s foreign affairs and national security committee.
“We may not be able to stop China’s continuing military
expansion, but it is imperative for us to stop the continuation
of this kind of military imbalance.” Taiwan’s main opposition
party, the Kuomintang (KMT), also welcomed the submarine acquisition.
“We welcome measures to address the future balance of power in the
western Pacific. And we would like to see a stronger Western alliance
in terms of military capability and technology,” said the KMT’s
top international adviser Alexander Huang….
The
Age,
14 March 2023:
A
partnership on the front foot,
from the pen of International editor Peter Hartcher
Australia-India
relations are thriving, driven by a mutual mistrust of China and
shared economic self-interest.
Among
the countries this week raising their voices against Australia's plan
for nuclear-propelled submarines, you will not hear India, the
world's most populous nation and fastest growing major economy….
"India
did not object to AUKUS when it was announced," explains a
leading Indian strategic analyst, C. Raja Mohan, because "it had
no reason to. Stronger deterrence against China on the east is
welcome for India," says the senior fellow of the Asia Society
Policy Institute.
If
you wondered why Australia's relations with India are suddenly
booming - beyond the stale comforts of curry, cricket and the
Commonwealth - the shared imperative of deterring the Chinese
Communist Party's adventurism is key. That is the only reason
Australia is arming itself with nuclear-propelled submarines…..
CEO former Liberal federal treasurer Peter Costello, Nine Entertainment Co:
The Canberra Times, 14 March 2023
Be alert and alarmed, but don't be duped on China, from the pen of columnist Crispen Hill
Australians should take special heed of the analysis of the noted defence strategist Peter Jennings and then draw the exact opposite conclusion from his about what should be done.
Jennings, who for 10 years was executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and was a deputy secretary of the Department of Defence, was one of five defence experts lined up by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in a series titled Red Alert. Its aim was to provide a more public discussion about Australia's defence needs than what will come out of the secretive Defence Strategic Review. And it was widely taken up by other media.
The five's conclusion was to expect war with China sooner rather than later because China was determined to take over Taiwan by force if necessary. The US would then move militarily to defend Taiwan and Australia would have to join in.
Jennings pointed out that in the first 72 hours, China could fire missiles (with or without nuclear warheads) on the naval fleet bases in Sydney and Perth, on RAAF bases near Brisbane and Darwin, and on communications bases near Alice Springs and Exmouth, among other targets.
The five concluded that war with China was almost inevitable and Australia needed an urgent massive upgrade and spend on its military and must maintain and strengthen its alliance with the US.
Those conclusions defy logic. Surely if Australian cities are going to be bombed because we are mad enough to follow the US blindly into a conflict that has nothing to do with us, the better course of action would be not to follow the US into that war and to loosen the ties with the US so that Australia could have its own defence policy and aims.
And the main aim should be to avoid war…..
BACKGROUND
X-Services
News Pty Ltd
Australian
Veteran News,
1 December 2021:
Made
in Taiwan: Scott Morrison has concocted a phony war with China to
take to the next election
from the pen of Leo DiAngelo Fisher
“Even
as Australia licks its wounds from the ignominy of the fruitless war
in Afghanistan, arguably Australia’s most pointless war, the
Morrison government is paving the way for a costlier, deadlier and
even more contentious conflagration. This time the trumped up
military foe is China….
Antagonising
China – never a difficult task – has been a hallmark of the
Morrison government. At first blush this might easily be attributed
to the government’s diplomatic and foreign policy ineptitude. And
there is that. Morrison is not a deep thinker on most fronts and
especially when it comes to foreign affairs. This is a government
that has wantonly sidelined diplomats and policy experts within the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – how else to explain the
AUKUS debacle? – in the belief that every decision by a government
is political and in the moment.
There
is none so one-dimensionally political as Scott Morrison. Morrison is
not a prime minister troubled by the “vision thing”. His vision
rarely extends beyond the next set of headlines. For Morrison, each
day is a stepping stone to the next election.
That
is the only prism through which the Morrison government’s incessant
goading of China can be viewed. Australia’s historical bogeyman of
choice, the “yellow peril”, has been reprised with unblushing
enthusiasm by this government.
The
Morrison government has deliberately and relentlessly fanned tensions
with China: the more it riles China, the angrier China becomes, the
more tangible the threat of war becomes.
Dutton
used his recent National Press Club address to raise the prospect of
war with China over the future of Taiwan.
Under
Dutton’s Doomsday scenario, an “aggressive” China is poised to
invade Taiwan, which it considers a renegade territory. Left
unchallenged, an emboldened China would inevitably seek to wrest
control of the disputed Senkaku Islands, currently administered by
Japan, in the East China Sea.
“If
Taiwan is taken, surely the Senkakus are next,” Dutton gratuitously
speculated with overtones of the discredited “domino theory” of
the 1950s and 60s, which mired the West, including Australia, in
futile conflicts in Indochina.
Such
was the ominous tenor of Dutton’s address as he mounted the case
against China.
.jpg)
