Robert Gottliebsen, “Defence has No time to Wait, with Conflict Risks,” The Australian, February 24, 2021, p. 23, makes the valid point that Australia’s main defence projects are going slow because it is assumed that there is a low risk of immediate war. That assumption, Gottliebsen says, has been proven wrong. The immediate flash point in our region is China’s increasing aggression towards Taiwan.
Recently China sent aircraft close to the Pratas islands in the south China Sea, these islands being controlled by Taiwan. The islands have no permanent residents and are only lightly defended. In response, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets. The Chinese offensive involved an armada of 11 planes consisting of two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, eight fighter jets and an anti-submarine aircraft. Gottliebsen says that this was probably a test of Joe Biden.