Chris Pyne (Remember Him?) Sees China War Coming By James Reed

Chris Pyne was the former Defence Minister, and he is alarmed about China’s present aggression re Taiwan and the South China Sea. China war is now more likely than five years ago. But, the Australian population has yet to take this in, still dealing with Covid-1984, which some see, as we have extensively covered, as a first biological volley in the war.

https://amp.9news.com.au/article/41ae97ec-4182-4bf6-9f82-43303b610f17

“Former defence minister Christopher Pyne has warned that Australia is at risk of being dragged into a war with China amid rising tensions around Taiwan.

In a speech to the University of Adelaide, Mr Pyne said the likelihood of a "kinetic war" in the Indo-Pacific was today much higher than when he was appointed minister for defence industry in 2016.

"Five years ago, I would've said that the possibility was very unlikely, now I would have to say that the possibility is more likely than it was then," he said yesterday.

Former defence minister Christopher Pyne warned the chance of armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific region is greater than five years ago. (AAP)

Mr Pyne, who later moved to the defence portfolio and retired from politics in 2019, said the US and its allies, including Australia, were now facing an increasingly confident China in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The reality is that China is confident and capable and is not embarrassed to show it," he said.

The former Liberal frontbencher said the Asia-Pacific risked a "real war" involving China over the next decade.

"Not a cyber war, but a real one involving loss of life, destruction of military platforms, with aggressors and defenders on different sides," Mr Pyne said.

"This isn't rhetoric, this is something that you and I may well have to confront in the next five to 10 years."

Taiwan has signed arms deal with the US, including 66 new F-16 fighter jets, as the self-ruling island faces an increasingly aggressive China. (Airman 1st Class Adrian Salazar/USAF)

Mr Pyne described China's massive increase in military spending as he delivered the graduation oration to the University of Adelaide Law School yesterday.

"China's military is very capable in an asymmetric war against the US and its allies around the island chains of the western Indo-Pacific and South East Asia - Australia is one of those allies," he said.

Mr Pyne said Beijing had displayed its increasing military power in the crackdown in Hong Kong and the treatment of Uighur minorities in China.

"Most concerning of all, it has turned up pressure on Taiwan, the most likely next flashpoint in the region.”

China war is not a question of if, but when.