Peter Hartcher did a great job of summing up cowardly Albo on the weekend.
…as the People’s Liberation Army Navy conducted “what can only be interpreted as an act of intimidation”, in the words of sinologist Anne-Marie Brady of New Zealand’s University of Canterbury, Albanese tried to minimise it. He tried so hard he tripped himself. Making China’s naval task group seem as harmless as possible, he gave the distinct impression that it had given notice that it was planning a live-firing drill in the path of a busy commercial air travel corridor.
But the evidence of federal officials in Senate estimates committees quickly revealed there had been no such notice. Australia had found out after the drill was under way, and quite by chance when a Virgin Australia pilot relayed a warning.
…Albanese’s deputy, Defence Minister Richard Marles, tried to dismiss Beijing’s gunboat diplomacy by saying it “wasn’t a real incident” and advising the country to “take a deep breath”. The government repeatedly emphasised the Chinese navy’s actions were within international law. This is true yet strategically and politically irrelevant.
…Two of the researchers at the University of Technology Sydney’s Australia-China Research Institute puzzled over the timidity of Marles’ commentary this week. Corey Lee Bell and Elana Collinson observed in a research note that he described the Chinese task group’s activities as “not unprecedented but … an unusual event”.
The researchers commented: “The last use of live fire by a non-allied nation off the coast of Sydney was by Imperial Japanese Navy mini-submarines in 1942.”
Yet who would be surprised? Labor has been a ceaseless Beijing groveler since the election. So much so that it has deployed the 14 conditions against democracy outlined by China in 2021.
The 14 conditions are all about suppressing dissent and debate so that China can get back to doing whatever it likes in the shadows of Australia and the region.
Albo has already done much of this under the spurious banner of stabilising relations:
- Instead of diversifying exports like everybody else, Albo has re-concentrated the Australian dependence on China.
- Instead of repatriating supply chains, Albo has concentrated them in China.
- Instead of building our military capability, Albo has retired one-third of the navy and hidden behind a shaky AUKUS.
- Instead of continuing the cleansing of clandestine Chinese influence in our parliaments, he has invited it back in.
- Instead of bringing sanitising sunshine to all transactions, he has buried them in yesteryear’s corrupt darkness.
- Instead of spending time at the G7 coordinating the China pushback a’la ScoMo, he goes to Beijing on his knees.
- Instead of saying “China” when we mean “China”, he has issued a fatwa against using the name.
- Instead of banning WeChat or TikTok, he appears on them.
- Instead of defending local think tanks, he has moved to defund the ASPI.
Yet even this was not enough. Beijing wants more, and the behaviour of Albo and his cowards over the past week suggests very strongly that he will give it to them if re-elected.
Enter Peter Dutton. AFR.
Peter Dutton will commit $3 billion towards buying 28 new fighter jets for the air force, seizing on the need to boost defence spending amid controversy over the potential circumnavigation of Australia by a flotilla of Chinese warships.
With Anthony Albanese and his government facing criticism by some China hawks for not responding more strongly to the unprecedented display of Beijing’s military prowess off the Australian coast, the Coalition argues extra fighters would help defend the continent and boost long-range strike capabilities.
The F35 is air-to-ship missile capable, though the larger varieties of missiles have to be mounted externally, so degrade the stealth capability.
Not that that matters; most air-to-ship missiles are fired outside of radar range. There’s not much drones can do against an F35 at 20,000ft, either.
Buying more hardware from the US at this juncture isn’t stupid, and Dutton sounds rock solid. The Australian.
“I will strengthen our Australian Defence Force with the funding and the capabilities they require to keep Australians safe and secure,” Mr Dutton said.
“Australia has long assessed the F-35A as the most capable fighter jet to meet Australia’s defence air power needs.
“This investment will bolster our air force and give it the ability to rapidly respond with flexible air combat options across large distances – enhancing access across the Indo-Pacific.”
He said Labor’s response to recent live-fire drills by Chinese warships off Australia’s coast had “clearly demonstrated the Prime Minister’s inability to stand up for Australia’s national interests”.
It’s not the complete answer; we’ll need a hugely boosted drone and missile land capability, but it’s a start and leaps ahead of Albo’s cowards, who are busy with distractions. AFR.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers joined the chorus of leaders backing Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky after his bruising clash with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, saying the two US leaders speak only for America, not Australia.
Meanwhile, the Chinese flotilla is roughly a 1000kms south-west of the hypothetical smoking crater that is the former city of Adelaide on its way to signing a peace treaty with WA that includes a provision for slave labour in newly constructed Pilbara re-education camps.
Yet Albo’s answer is more poltroonary as he offers to pack Andrew Robb into a howitzer and shoot him at the convoy. The Australian.
Anthony Albanese has defended his government’s response to the Chinese warships that appear to be circumnavigating around Australia, accusing the previous Coalition government of having put out a “welcome mat” for China with prior decisions including the lease of the Port of Darwin.
While turning Andrew Robb into a skidmark running down the side of a Chinese warship has its appeal, his impact is unlikely to be lasting. ABC.
The Chinese ambassador has signalled Beijing will conduct further naval deployments close to Australia, saying it’s “normal” for a major power to send naval assets across the world.
In his first comments since this month’s arrival of a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) taskforce, Ambassador Xiao Qian declared there was no reason for China to “pose a threat to Australia” as both countries remain “strategic partners”.
We need to arm ourselves quickly and paint the next arrivals with laser sights and pre-prepared counter-maneuvers.
Diverting a few iron ore cargoes isn’t a bad idea, either.
Applying equal discomfort is the minimum response required.
