You should do that. You don’t want to get kidney weakness.
Always interesting to see how you are viewed from overseas. This is a Chinese government publication under the editorial banner.
Australia’s new defense strategy a miscalculation of Asia-Pacific situation
By Global Times Published: Apr 18, 2024 08:47 PM
Illustration: Chen Xia/GT
Despite the thawing of China-Australia relations, Australia has accused China of “coercion.” Australia unveiled its new defense strategy on Wednesday, announcing an increase of around AU$50 billion ($32 million) in defense spending over the next decade. The strategy noted China’s “coercive tactics” amid the growing risk of regional conflict, such as in the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea.
Australia’s defense strategy is a serious miscalculation of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, a misjudgment of China’s strategic intentions and a wrong position. Australia has mistakenly characterized some of China’s actions in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity as “coercive tactics.” This completely ignores historical facts and international norms, as well as distorts and slanders China’s legitimate rights and actions in the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea.
China and Australia have no historical grudges or fundamental conflicts of interest, and China has no intention of treating Australia as an enemy, but it is always described as a “threat” by Australia. Australia has long hoped to play the role of a major power in the South Pacific, so it believes that fabricating or hyping up the “China threat” rhetoric can enhance its strategic position in this region. However, the fact is exactly the opposite. Canberra is imagining the nightmare scenario of the imaginary “war with China” under the coax of Washington. It will end up sacrificing its own interests to support the hegemony of the US.
“Australia’s inexplicable insecurity and anxiety when facing China are the result of being misled or cajoled by the US. It is imaging a fictitious threat from China. Therefore, some of China’s actions in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity in the South China Sea are wrongly described as coercion,” Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times.
Amid this anxiety and morbid mentality, the Australian government announced in February that it would invest additional AU$11.1 billion to build “a larger, more lethal” fleet than the largest navy since World War II. Australia’s military strategy deviates from a defensive nature, to become aggressive, changing from being the “anchor” of US strategy to an offensive “spear.”
Australia, surrounded by seas on all sides, is far away from other hot spots. No country can pose a direct military threat or challenge to its territory. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles also mentioned on Wednesday that invasion of Australia is “an unlikely prospect” in any scenario. China has never shown off its force or engaged in any coercive behavior near Australia. On the contrary, Australia joined joint naval exercises in the South China Sea in early April with the US, Japan and the Philippines, stirring up the regional situation and acting aggressively on China’s doorstep.
Ning Tuanhui, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, believes Australia has been paranoid in terms of military and security in recent years, subjectively exaggerating security threats and regarding China as a risk source of its safety. This perspective is indeed far-fetched. China and Australia don’t have territorial disputes nor fundamental conflicts of interest, making it unlikely for the two countries to have military collisions.
In fact, it’s Australia’s defense strategy of aligning itself with the US against China that may actually increase its own risks in the long run. This approach is self-inflicted, and it will not bring any benefits to Australia, but rather pose extreme danger.
Chinese Foreign Minister ■■■■ Yi’s visit to Australia in March demonstrated China’s positive attitude toward advancing bilateral relations. This kind of mutual respect and win-win exchanges, not limited to the economic and trade field, should be the original pattern of the relationship between the two countries.
Australia has unwarranted anxieties toward China in its relations with the country. Fabricating the “China threat” has become a form of political correctness for some Australian politicians. They only seem to value immediate interests, emphasizing the importance of China-Australia relations when they need economic support from China, and showing loyalty to Washington when necessary. If Australia believes it is maintaining a balance between China and the US, it has created the “largest swing” in the world.
Much of Australia’s security anxiety regarding China is unnecessary. It may be difficult for Canberra to completely change this mindset quickly, but the Australian government must be careful not to make misjudgments when it comes to the country’s destiny.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1310856.shtml**strong text**
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That’s when you exclude the purchasing power advantages China has due to low labour costs. When that is factored in, China is probably able to afford more with its budget than the USA. They were pretty close in 2018 and the trajectory hasn’t changed since.
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Also take out the wastage due to US C-suite overpayments, perks and lurks etc and the budgets would get closer.
the ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■ have been turning under water coral reefs into military bases, claiming territory that is not theirs and harassing smaller nations around. Get ■■■■■■ you bunch of ■■■■■, minnie mao is destroying the country just like the ■■■■ did 70 odd years ago.
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Don’t hold back, mic. Tell us what you really think.
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Your restraint is commendable.
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- I hate this line more than any other. We are quite capable of making our own good or bad decisions. US are an ally and we’re not puppets.
- I suggest you find a native English speaker to be your proof reader.
- Unfortunately I wrote the same on here a few weeks ago so I admit I agree the threat to our homeland is fictitious, and apart from the occasional freedom of navigation journey through the Taiwan Straight, I don’t believe we should be projecting military into the South China Sea.
- Not so much coercion and more so clear military aggression.
- We need to stop trading so much with you guys, so that your economic blackmail is meaningless.
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I dont think we genuinely believe there is a threat of invasion to australia, however an escalation based on the military spend, coersion through the south china sea by way of artifical islands and more will cause an escalation at some point. We will probably be dragged into this depending on where this takes place. My guess is the Philippines, this looks closest to the point of an inadvertent ewcalation. I pray this doesnt eventuate, but if their economy continues to tank expect a military ‘unification’ attempt for taiwan sooner than later.
The bullshit pieces from the global times are laughable as is the constant hypocracy from their foreign mouthpieces.
I do agree we need to diversify import and export drastically to reduce the reliance, and do it as fast as possible.
I didn’t really pick those top two.
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china will have some nice default clauses that gets them a prime piece of infrastructure in each of those countries, together with their “support” at the UN.
much is made of the rising china middle class but there are 100s of millions of poor people in china who live in sheds or cupboards, as well as the rural poor. I find this international investment obscene when you haven’t adequately looked after your own people.
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The US is the largest bilateral donor to Pakistan ( a fair chunk military) , but has suspended aid under Obama and Trump connected to claims of harbouring terrorism ( that’s where Bin Laden met his end).
More recently there has been sourcing of ammo from Pakistan for Ukraine, maybe some other military equipment.
Pakistan has needed massive injections of international aid after the floods. .
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What a Deglobalized Economy Will Look Like
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I think deglobalisation (or scaling down of global trade) at some level is inevitable. One reason being a lot of trade is pointless - we don’t really need to import Italian spaghetti, or apples from the US as we can make do with our own locally grown stuff.
Glocalization is the term for a shift back to building strong local economies and trading essential goods globally.
That map above seems to depict China as the enemy of the West and the friend of Russia. Rather China will position itself as the great global neutral peaceful power and friends of all trading partners. They won’t align with enemies of the West, as that will be a lost business opportunity.
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Saw this today:
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I’ll give you like for the first part of your comment, Ewok. As for the second, yes, Axis vs Allies was connotive terming in that video but I think the CCP has already become our biggest antagonist and our biggest strategic threat.
Given we are supplying military equipment to Ukraine so they can kill Russians, I think Russia is our biggest threat.
I understand your assumption is that Russia, with a tinpot economy barely bigger than ours, is in no position to invade the south, but Russia can certainly change the world as we know it eg by being allowed to win in Ukraine thru indifference from the West, or launching some tactical nukes etc.
China are building a military to rival the US but I don’t think that warrants them being our big threat. For their own security and status - and based on history where China was conquered and carved up by western forces - they should build a strong military to make sure that never happens again. They are being aggressive towards their Asian neighbours around some disputed islands. That hardly threatens us. Their actions to deter freedom of navigation through the Taiwan strait are not an act of war, but a long term strategy to claim Taiwan as part of China. Given Taiwan’s national identity is ambiguous, of course they’ll project the best position for their national interest.
All the war spruiking in the Murdoch press and by paid military generals, is based on the hypothetical that China is about to invade Taiwan and the US defends Taiwan then the world is screwed.
In China (and North Korea), they have similar scaremongering regarding US invasion of their homelands. At least those countries’ paranoia towards invasion by the west has some historical basis. Every decade we seem to find another imaginary enemy to be scared of, which distracts us from seeing the real war which is the one we are waging on our own environment in our own homeland.
edit…geez I struggled to nexta-proof that last paragraph 
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Ewok, I agree with some of what you’ve said. However, let’s just stick to the issue of China and Geopolitics, not Murdoch, Global warming, US Imperialism etc. etc.
Modern China under the CCP is not a benign power. They are aggressive, expansionist and investing in a relentless militarization drive. (Aircraft carriers are not defensive weapons they are used to project power) Add to that their seriously overheated historical grievances, abrasive messaging mixed with naked aggression that passes for a foreign policy and their nine-dash land grab of most of the South China Sea.
This was last week:
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The Long game. In the long run, Australia must defer. Will that be done consensually or coercively? All options are on the table.
In the meantime, enlightened Leader Xi is watching. He is looking forward to your continuing positivity towards the peaceful rise of the harmonious and glorious Motherland.
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