Australia prepares for war with China
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Canberra prepares for Taiwan conflict as tensions escalate
The Australian government has sharply escalated its internal preparations for potential military action in the Taiwan Strait.
This is part of a broader show of force by the US and its allies at forcing China to back down on its incursions into the island state’s air space and isolate its economic partners.
Sources have told AFR Weekend that the Australian Defence Force was planning for a potential worst-case scenario if the United States and China clashed over Taiwan, prompting debate over the scope and scale of Canberra’s contribution to what would be an unprecedented conflict in the region.
Options include contributing to an allied effort with submarines, as well as maritime surveillance aircraft, air-to-air refuellers and potentially Super Hornet fighters operating from US bases in Guam or the Philippines, and even Japan.
The intensification has been welcomed as long overdue by seasoned Taiwan watchers, who warn that China’s growing aggression towards the island and the renewed US resolve to help Taipei defend itself could spiral out of control and into a catastrophic open conflict.
Concern is mounting throughout the region, and Taiwan accuses China of sending 25 military aircraft into its air defence identification zone this week – a record incursion.
The chief of Australia’s Defence Force, Angus Campbell, cautioned that conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be “disastrous” and urged Beijing to resolve its differences with Taiwan’s leaders through dialogue.
https://www.afr.com/world/asia/canberra-pre…20210416-p57jqv
Meanwhile Jacinda Adern’s “Taniwha” is cosying up to the dragon
Australian military ramps up preparation for ‘worst case scenario’ of all-out war with China over Taiwan in the next five years
- Australian Defence Force begins preparations over potential war over Taiwan
- Seen as a strategy to force China to cease military incursions over Taiwan Strait
- Pressure remains on Australia to align with Japan, India and the US on the issue
17 April, 2021
The Australian Defence Force is war-gaming what its combat role would be in a potential military conflict with China over Taiwan, sources have revealed.
Military officials in Canberra have been planning out ‘worst case’ scenarios in which Collins-class submarines and Super Hornet fighter jets would be deployed to the Taiwan Strait to assist the United States and other regional strategic allies.
Pressure is mounting on Australia and fellow ‘Quad’ members – Japan, India and the US – to keep Beijing’s forces at bay as tensions continue to soar over the disputed territory.
China has become increasingly aggressive in the region, stamping out pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong and cracking down on Muslims minorities in Xinjiang.
It is now feared the authoritarian state will turn its military might to Taiwan as it looks to re-unify the island under President-for-life Xi Jinping.
China has repeatedly incurred on Taipei’s maritime borders and air space and this week it sent a record 25 military aircraft into into the defence ‘identification zone’.
The Australian Defence Force is war-gaming what its combat role would be in a potential military conflict with China over Taiwan, sources have revealed. Pictured: Australian Super Hornet aircrew get ready to take off
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured) has remained staunch in the face of Chinese aggression – with many nations now at loggerheads with the communist superpower
‘There is a lot of development and scenario planning going on,’ a diplomatic source told the Australian Financial Review.
‘It is intended to signal you are not going to blink. It is intended to demonstrate you don’t lack commitment.’
Taiwan, backed by the US and Japan, has endured a longstanding conflict with Beijing since the Chinese civil war in 1949 and now its residents are more on edge than ever after watching the erosion of freedom and independence in Hong Kong.
But the island nation remains an important ally of western democratic countries for its close proximity to China and because it produces a significant supply of semiconductor microchips at a time when there is a major global shortage.
In the event that China follows through on the rhetoric of its ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomats and attempts to annex the island, it’s possible the Quad could come to their aid.
A former defence official said Australian maritime assets like Air Warfare Destroyers and Collins-class submarines could be deployed in such an event to ‘bottle up’ the Chinese navy.
A Chinese naval ship sails into Sydney Harbour in June 2019 during a secret reciprocal visit – there are now warnings of an impending war between the nations
In the event that China follows through on the rhetoric of its ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomats and attempts to annex the island, it’s possible the Quad could come to their aid. Pictured: Australian troops line up in Townsville
But he admitted there would be great hesitation in doing so as it would put the vital military vessels and their crews at great risk.
He said it’s more likely Canberra would send ‘maritime surveillance aircraft, air-to-air refuellers, the Wedgetail airborne radar plane and Super Hornet fighter jets, operating from US bases in Guam or the Philippines’.
ADF chief Angus Campbell has said conflict over the island of Taiwan would be ‘disastrous’ for the people of the region and should be avoided at all cost.
But as China becomes increasingly belligerent on the world stage – carrying out a fatal border conflict with Indian last year and encroaching on Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei in the South China Sea – some believe conflict may be inevitable.
Former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, who served under Malcolm Turnbull, said last week things may well get a whole lot worse as Beijing looks to poke and prod its Asia Pacific neighbours.
Australian Army soldier from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment in Queensland (pictured) amid warnings that Australia could ‘be at war with China’ within years
‘Five years ago, I would have said that the possibility was very unlikely – now I would have to say that the possibility is more likely than it was then,’ Mr Pyne said in a speech at the University of Adelaide, News.com.au reported.
‘Not a cyber war, but a real one involving loss of life, destruction of military platforms, with aggressors and defenders on different sides.
‘This isn’t rhetoric. This is something that you and I may well have to confront in the next five to 10 years.’
Australia’s relationship with its biggest trading partner began to drastically deteriorate in April last year when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus, which first appeared in Wuhan at the end of 2019.
The plea for transparency over Covid-19 infuriated the Communist Party who retaliated by imposing arbitrary bans and tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Australian goods including barley, wine, cotton, seafood, beef, copper, and coal.
Pressure is mounting on Australia and fellow ‘Quad’ members – Japan, India and the US – to keep Beijing’s forces (pictured) at bay as tensions continue to soar over the disputed territory.
Former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, who served under Malcolm Turnbull, said last week things may well get a whole lot worse as Beijing looks to poke and prod its Asia Pacific neighbours. Pictured: A US-made F-16 jet fighter lands on a runway in Taiwan
