A former defense strategist has argued that Australia must adopt nuclear weapons as "Australia can not longer rely on America to defend us against a major power " such as China. Australia National University Professor Hugh White says China is now the major power in the Asia/Pacific region so the US/Australian alliance will be "tested" into the future. Last month three Chinese warships sailed into Sydney Harbor.. this was kept somewhat hush hush."Why were they here? Makes you wonder. One of the Chinese ships in Sydney Harbor. Picture: Peter Rae/AAPSource:AAP
A former defense strategist has argued that Australia must adopt nuclear weapons as "Australia can not longer rely on America to defend us against a major power " such as China. Professor Hugh White says China is now the major power in the Asia/Pacific region so the "strong US/Australian alliance will be tested " into the future. Last month three Chinese warships sailed into Sydney Harbor.. this was kept somewhat hush hush."Why were they here? Makes you wonder. One of the Chinese ships in Sydney Harbor. Picture: Peter Rae/AAPSource:AAP
I would say Australia must have permitted it to happen. The Chinese wouldn't just barge into a harbor. There is too much at stake. Under Obama, many of our allies were uneasy concerning the willingness of the U.S. to keep them under our "Nuclear Umbrella", but I think that fear has lessened somewhat under Trump.
I know some in your country have been advocating closer ties with China. China has been saying they want closer ties with Australia. China is a big trading partner. China wants your neutrality in case of trouble with the US, I would guess. With a military powerful China, the US is over stretched on it's commitments in that part of the world. I'd feel uncomfortable depending on US support.
China may want our neutrality but they wont get it. Australia and the US are as connected as a baby is to its umbilical. Having said that.. this is a big incentive to remain neutral. China: US$74 billion (29.2% of total Australian exports. By comparison the US: US$9.2 bill (3.9% of total exports).
In the early 1980s, I was working at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. A huge Soviet ship came into port there and remained for a few weeks, next to a smaller Soviet ship that may have been escorting it. The larger ship was probably a cargo ship or a tanker, but I couldn't see the smaller one very well because it was mostly obstructed by the larger ship. The local newspapers seemed not to know what these two ships were doing there, as the US-Russia Cold War was still going strong at that time, but there was speculation that the larger ship was in need of repairs. That part of the port was cordoned off, but it couldn't be missed. It was large. Another thing that seemed strange, to me, was that Russian crew members were allowed to leave the ship regularly, seemingly to shop or to hit the bars and restaurants of Brownsville.
@Craig Swanson : . The US will be back on your side, although weaker in the region. This is just an aberration.
Wow, I never thought in terms of Australia feeling threatened by China. For some reason, I always thought Australia was such a cool country, who would ever be mad at it? If Australia had an attack, I'm quite sure most of the world would be their ally.
I think China needs Australia for resources. They won't alienate the Aussies unless the Australians turn their backs on the Chinese. If that happens, it could be a little like the Japanese in WWII.
I can't remember now whether I heard that there had been defections or if I had just considered that there might be.