Australia and the U.S. military held joint exercises in the South China Sea in April last year.
The former U.S. President Donald Trump initiated the “Indo-Pacific Strategy” during his presidency to counter the expansion of the Chinese Communist Party in the region, with Australia, Japan, India and other countries participating in the strategy. The Australian government announced on Monday (25) that it will spend more than $700 million to strengthen its naval armament. However, Australian Finance Minister Feldberg said in an exclusive interview with the U.S. media that he expects to maintain mutual benefits with China on trade. An academic interviewed by this station analyzed that Australia’s military strengthening is a long-term plan, and Biden‘s presidency has made Australia’s role in the Indo-Pacific region even more important. As for the Chinese Communist Party’s trade restrictions on Australia, the Morrison government will respond by developing a diversified market.
The Australian government issued a statement announcing that the military spending was part of an earlier provision for increased military spending over the next 10 years. The military spending is for research and development of new naval armaments, including long-range missiles and torpedoes, and plans to equip the navy with more advanced long-range anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 1,500 kilometers; and increase the range of ground-to-air missiles, expanding the range to more than 370 kilometers; research and development of light torpedoes, etc., to strengthen the army’s land and sea attack capabilities. The Canberra government said that the series of military deployments are to “demonstrate and maintain control of the sea”, emphasizing the protection of national maritime resources and strengthening border defense.
Australian Navy strengthens deterrence in South Pacific
In a statement, Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said, “The new capabilities provide a strong and credible deterrent to adversaries and ensure regional stability and security. The statement also mentioned that the enhanced naval armament should “make adversaries feel the deterrent effect of Australian forces at greater distances.
In recent months, Australia’s relations with China have been strained, and Prime Minister Morrison’s government has put its strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific region, in line with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy. However, Australia’s finance minister Feldenberg said in an exclusive interview with the U.S. media, “China is a very important market for Australia, Australia’s exports to China, has always been an important source of income for the country, creating jobs.
Australia negotiates with Beijing to appeal to WTO over trade dispute
Since the outbreak of the new crown Epidemic, Australia has held the Chinese Communist Party accountable for the source of the virus, and relations between the two countries have deteriorated. Beijing has put pressure on Canberra over trade, including restrictions on Australian coal imports, punitive tariffs on Australian red wine and barley, and delays on local imports of lobster, beef, cotton and timber to China, hitting the Australian economy. The Morrison government has sought mediation from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow imports of barley and coal. Earlier, the Morrison government had complained to the WTO that the Chinese Communist Party’s ban on Australian coal imports violated the WTO agreement.
Morrison’s earlier request for dialogue with Beijing to resolve the trade dispute was rejected by Beijing. Australia’s new trade minister, Dan Tehan, wrote to China urging the two countries to mediate on trade issues, and the Global Times quoted Chinese scholars as saying that Australia was “making a show and fighting for support”.
Cai Rongfeng: Australia unlikely to change ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’ due to Beijing’s pressure
Cai Rongfeng, a policy researcher at Taiwan‘s National Defense Security Research Institute and the Institute for Defense Strategy and Resources, who is familiar with Australian affairs, analyzed in an interview with this station that Australia’s military development is a long-term plan to prepare for war, and has extended its military planning from 5 to 10 years, which is evident.
Cai Rongfeng does not think that Australia will change its Indo-Pacific strategy because of the economic pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. He believes that the Chinese Communist Party’s military expansion is bound to develop towards the second island chain, while Australia sees Indonesia and East Timor as its defense bottom line, and more than half of Australia’s GDP depends on maritime trade and must pass through the South China Sea, which is not something that can be “bargained” or backed down.
Cai Rongfeng said: the defense side of things to do is the maintenance of long-term combat power. It should be done because Australia also has to maintain part of the war effort, each country’s defense has to take care of itself, will be explained in this direction, Australia’s military strength are against the Chinese Communist Party’s PLA Navy’s war effort planning.
He analyzed that Australia may be affected by the economic pressure of the Chinese Communist Party in the short term, but the country has responded with the development of a diversified market. As long as the Morrison government is clear about the bottom line of the Chinese Communist Party, it can reduce the overall impact of Beijing’s trade interference by appropriately complementing and diversifying the market strategy among trade goods. Cai Rongfeng also believes that, compared to other U.S. allies, Australia is good at multilateralist diplomacy and can work with U.S. President Joe Biden’s foreign policy.
Australia is very good at diplomacy and group warfare, compared to other U.S. allies,” Cai said. Biden’s appearance may become more important, Australia’s participation instead of deepening, but the name may not be “Indo-Pacific Strategy”.
Cai Rongfeng continued to point out that the current contradictions in Australia-China relations are the result of a long-term accumulation of national interests of both countries, “it is difficult to return to the state before 2020 in the short term.
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