More of the same, nothing we have not heard before. CCP’s Xi has been pinging away at the AUKUS arrangement, seeing it as a bit of aggressive behaviour on Australia’s part, when the role that Australia should play is that of a passive slave. That Xi is so grumpy about AUKUS indicates that Australia is on the right track, and we must go further in acquiring nuclear weapons.
Should Taiwan be defended? It’s complicated, and really depends upon the IT industries there. What is needed now is to rapidly move these to Australia, or South Korea, and then see if the CCP is still interested in invasion. Or, at worst, set up the entire place with high explosives, let the CCP see this in full glorious colour, and tell them, invade and it is scorched earth. See how keen they are then.
“China’s President Xi Jinping has led a sweeping attack on the Australian government’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and United Kingdom.
In a significant escalation of China’s efforts to stoke discord about the three allies in the region, Mr Xi made opposition to Australia’s new security pact with the US and UK — dubbed AUKUS — one of the centrepieces of a major speech he gave to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“We need to pursue dialogue instead of confrontation, build partnerships instead of alliances, and make concerted efforts to address the various negative factors that might threaten or undermine peace,” China’s strongman leader said in a speech delivered over videolink late on Monday.
Mr Xi — who dominates China’s political system and is overseeing a huge military build up — said making “a peaceful home together” was one of his five proposals for South East Asia.
He said China would never “bully smaller countries”, before swiping Australia’s new nuclear submarine agreement.
“China supports ASEAN’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon-free zone, and is prepared to sign the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone as early as possible,” he said.’
Really? What about China’s vast nuclear build up? Let them show their commitment and disarm first!