Australia should be “deeply concerned” about China’s ambition to win over island nations in the Pacific and its intention to expand foreign military operations, a defense analyst said.
China’s state media reported this week that President Xi Jinping had signed an order to expand the legal base for the country’s military to conduct “armed forces operations” other than war in other areas.
Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, is the latest to warn about China’s motives.
She described what basically amounts to a new military doctrine for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army as “potentially very serious”.
“The Chinese are trying to expand their base and stationing agreements further and further to complicate a possible defense of Taiwan by the US and other countries,” she told ABC Radio on Friday morning.
“We need to make sure that we can provide Taiwan with the kind of assistance that would allow it to protect itself from a potential Chinese invasion, blockade or attack.”
When Mrs. When asked about China’s charm offensive in the Australia region, Schake didn’t mince her words.
“I think Australia should be very concerned,” she said.
Ms Schake is steeped in defense history, having previously worked for United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and Senator John McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Barack Obama.
She believes Australia is a “frontline state” in countering China’s outward aggression.
Since taking power, Australia’s new foreign secretary, Penny Wong, has been on a whirlwind journey to visit Pacific island nations in an effort to improve bilateral ties — something that US observers say is crucial. importance is to curb China’s “malicious” expansion.
“Australia moving so assertively and engagingly and wanting to help Pacific countries maintain their sovereignty against Chinese pressure is really valuable,” said Ms Schake.
“Your country and mine have left too much undisputed room for the Chinese to invest, to provide security” [in the Pacific]†
The Chinese leader’s official move this week to expand his country’s military mandate has raised eyebrows, with some observers comparing it to the language Vladimir Putin used to justify his invasion of Ukraine.
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