Dick Markes says the quiet part out loud. The Australian.
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles says the nation will inevitably be drawn into a US-China conflict with the continent now more relevant than ever to the contest between the world’s great powers, as America ratchets up its military presence on Australian soil.
…Mr Marles said while Australia was not under threat of invasion by China, it would play a key role if war broke out between the US and China. “Our continent is more relevant to great power contest now than it’s ever been before,” he told The Australian’s Defending Australia summit in Canberra on Monday.
“That is as much of a question in the here and now as is the building up of our defence capability.”
Various “experts” canvassed Australia’s involvement as anything from Pine Gap to actual military hardware.
Perhaps so, but I suggest that Australia’s major contribution would be a self-imposed commodity blockade.
That is the real role of AUKUS, to blockade our own goods in the Malacca Straits and South China Sea.
Our strategic posture is so confused that I would be unsurprised to see the RAN sinking our own iron ore bulkers off the coast of Indonesia or the Philippines.
And that’s the kicker. Before any hot war, there would be an intensifying cold war that would isolate China economically in an attempt to deter hostilities.
Guess who’s at the top of that list?
