Thread: Australia V China

Top Australian intelligence chief warns China's 'troubling' strategic convergence with Russia poses threat to democracies


One of Australia's top intelligence chiefs says China is intent on establishing "global pre-eminence" and says its "troubling" strategic convergence with Russia will pose new threats to liberal democracies like Australia.
Key points:

The Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence says China wants to establish primacy in the Indo-Pacific region
Russia and China struck a new "no limits" strategic pact just weeks before the invasion of Ukraine
He says there were "legitimate doubts about American staying power" after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan

The Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, has offered a grim assessment of Australia's strategic outlook at the Australian Financial Review Business Summit.

Mr Shearer said China's authoritarian turn under President Xi Jinping was partly driven by the Chinese Communist Party's desire to supersede the United States as a global power.

"We see a leader who is really battening down and hardening his country for this struggle to overtake the United States as the world's leading power," he said.

"That's the assessment of the US intelligence community of China's intent [and] it's also our assessment of China's intent.
Xi Jinping in a suit, clasping his hands together
Mr Shearer says Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to supersede the US as a global power.(Reuters: Damir Sagolj)

"And the way station, if you like, the base camp for getting to that position of global pre-eminence, is to establish primacy in the Indo-Pacific region.

"A situation where other countries in the region, across South-East Asia, across the Pacific, including Australia, have to defer to Beijing's choices."

Russia and China struck a new "no limits" strategic pact just weeks before Russia's President ordered troops into Ukraine.

Mr Shearer said that agreement was a "symbol" of a "troubling new strategic convergence" between Beijing and Moscow.

"What we're seeing is that increasing cooperation between these authoritarian powers," he said.

"I do think it tells us that we're going to have to work much harder to maintain the liberal quality of the rules-based order in Europe and here in the Indo-Pacific region."
A girl looks on among Afghan women completely covered by blue burqas.
The withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan left many questioning American power, Mr Shearer says.(Reuters)

He struck a more optimistic tone on the United States-led response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying the wide-ranging sanctions imposed on Moscow by a host of countries across Europe and Asia showed that "reservoirs of American power still run deep".

"I think, particularly after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, there were legitimate doubts about American staying power, but I would contend that the US response to what's playing out in Ukraine has been robust [and] as effective as it could be in a very difficult situation."

But Mr Shearer also warned that while Ukraine's resistance had been much stronger than many analysts expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin was "very determined" to take the country because he had "everything at stake".

"It's very hard to see a sort of elegant or even inelegant dismount from this for Putin and his tactics, in our judgement, will become more and more brutal," he said.

"We're seeing that in the shelling of innocent women and children and other civilians just in the last few days … so we are in for a very brutal, bloody couple of weeks, in our judgement."

A group of people, including children, huddle around the light of a globe in a dark room.
Families have been forced to take shelter in Mariupol and other parts of Ukraine.(AP: Evgeniy Maloletka)
Quad and Europe need to 'push back' on authoritarian impulses

He also expressed frustration at the Biden administration's economic strategy in Asia.

Former US president Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and Joe Biden has made it clear the US will not re-join it under his presidency.

Senior US officials have instead promised to develop an Indo-Pacific "economic framework" focusing on supply chain resilience, infrastructure, clean energy and the digital economy, but progress has been slow.

"Do they need to do more on trade and investment? Do they need to have a proper regional economic plan? Absolutely," Mr Shearer said.

"And we badger them mercilessly about that, I can assure you, day in, day out."

Mr Shearer said Australia needed to respond to the deteriorating strategic environment by "hardening" its economic and political systems from coercion and foreign interference, and said an increasing number of countries across Asia and Europe realised they were facing a common threat from authoritarian states like Russia and China.
Xi Jinping hints at a shift in China's 'Wolf Warrior' diplomacy

After several years of a noticeably more assertive shift in China's diplomatic and media tone, Xi Jinping has dropped the first hint that the country's confrontational style needs adjustment, writes Bill Birtles.
Xi Jinping waves to someone off camera as he sits in a suit in front of a red wall.
Read more

"We're dealing with it in like-minded partnership with an increasing range of countries," he said.

"[This gives us] the ability to stake out positions defending the liberal aspects of the world order that that give us some hope of at least curbing some of China's more assertive behaviour."

And he said democratic countries were not just focused on balancing China's swelling military might but also ensuring that global rules governing new technologies were "conducive" to democracies rather than autocracies.

"We can't win that fight on our own. Not even the United States can win that fight on its own," Mr Shearer told the summit.

"But the US, Australia, India, Japan, plus the massive normative power of Europe, can actually make a difference in pushing back on some of these authoritarian impulses."

https://www.abc. net.au/news/2022-03-09/australian-top-intelligence-chief-warns-china-autocracy-russia/100896170

So, how exactly are we gonna stop China and Russia from being 'friends with benefits'? By calling them nasty names, maybe?

And how exactly is Australia going to make India a fellow US vassal? Buy less curry powder?


A submissive Australia in no position to criticize India’s independent strategies on Ukraine crisis

Some media outlets in Australia have been feverishly roused in recent weeks, stirring up discord during the ongoing military conflicts in Ukraine. They have been criticizing countries like India and Indonesia that have refused to follow the US-led West denouncement of Russia and call to impose sanctions. Instead, they called for diplomacy and dialogue as solutions to the crisis.

As a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), which has been pulled together and mobilized by the US as the axis of its treasured Indo-Pacific strategy, India is expected to synchronize and take its cues from Washington.

Canberra has been a loyal acolyte of Team USA, with constant unfailing dedication. The former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull pledged to "join at the hip" with the US in defense and foreign affairs. His successor, Scott Morrison, boasted that "There is no deeper friendship than that which exists between Australia and the US… We see the world through the same eyes."

Indeed, Canberra has been supporting almost every initiative and strategy yielded from the White House for decades. It never missed out on a single war waged by the US, at the cost of Australian lives and Australian taxpayers' money. For Canberra, it is unimaginable that developing countries demonstrate their maturity and independence and stand up against the West's political pressures.

It is a universal truism that all sovereign countries are politically independent, with their own national interests to protect and promote. They have the unchallengeable right to make decisions and formulate their own international policy.

What's more, as a longstanding member of the non-alliance movement, New Delhi has never forsaken its own interests or strategic targets in order to serve Washington's hidden agenda.

The Biden administration's new version of Indo-Pacific Strategy repeatedly stresses its desire to engage India as a close partner in the regional cobweb of the US' strategic groupings, aimed at containing and deterring China's development. It deliberately tries to increase tensions between India and China by calling attention to border disputes.

The Modi government has not been as submissive as Canberra to Washington. A more coolheaded approach is at play in New Delhi with India's national interest and long-term strategic goals taking precedence. India has refrained from blindly joining the West-led chorus censuring Russia, and has instead adopted an independent diplomatic approach, much to the chagrin of many of Washington's vassal states.

There is something important for Australia to consider. Why is India making its own diplomatic decisions on an important international issue like the Ukraine crisis, while Australia continues to pledge its allegiance to Washington at the cost of its own national interest?

In psychology, there is a neurotic syndrome called Fear Of Missing Out, or FOMO, which often brings about stress and anxiety because the victim is always in apprehension of being unable to possess or achieve something good. Some people in Australia apparently need a psychiatrist's couch as they are constantly worried that they will be left behind by Washington. They pathetically believe that Australia should attach itself to the US hegemony to attain security, just as creeping vines have to coil around a sturdy tree trunk.

It still remains uncertain whether Canberra will attain true independence, or remain immature in a perpetual cocoon.

A submissive Australia in no position to criticize India’s independent strategies on Ukraine crisis - Global Times

A Chinese-owned car company has revealed its plans to take over the Australian car market with electric cars that are much cheaper than Tesla.

An MG executive said motorists no longer associated its famous octagonal badge with British open-top roadsters like the post-war MGA and MGB classics, as they looked to the future.

The MG ZS EV was Australia's most popular electric car last year, with the SUV costing $20,000 less than the most affordable Tesla.

MG, a reinvented budget car maker, was Australia's seventh most popular brand in February putting it ahead of Subaru, Isuzu and Nissan on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries sales chart.

The MG ZS was Australia's sixth bestselling car last month while in January it had two spots on the monthly top ten for the first time ever, with the budget MG3 in ninth place, cementing its place as Australia's most popular light car.

Full article- Chinese car company reveals plans to take over the Australian market (msn.com)

Solomon Islands defends plans to expand security ties with China, as Canberra, Wellington express concern



The government of Solomon Islands is standing by a controversial draft agreement which Australian officials fear could pave the way to a Chinese military presence in the Pacific Island nation, declaring it has to "broaden" its security ties.

The draft agreement — – seems to provide a framework for Chinese troops and military assets to be deployed to Solomon Islands, and has drawn criticism from the Solomon Islands opposition.

However, in a statement issued late on Friday, the Solomon Islands government issued a lengthy defence of its push to expand security ties with Beijing.

"The government recognises the state's responsibility of protecting its people from fear and to live in dignity," it says.
"Broadening partnerships is needed to improve the quality of lives of our people and [to] address soft and hard security threats facing the country."

The statement does not say whether the leaked document is the latest version or whether it will be presented to Solomon Islands cabinet in its current form.

It also said the government was "expanding the country's security arrangement with more countries" and suggested there was a strong "development" imperative driving the arrangement.

"The proposed security arrangements have a development dimension to [them], covering humanitarian needs of the country besides maintaining the rule of law," the statement says.

But it does not explain how the proposed agreement will boost development or lift living standards in the country.

Australia and New Zealand have already expressed alarm about the draft document.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison did not directly criticise Solomon Islands for pursuing the agreement but said the episode highlighted "the constant pressure and the constant push that is coming into the region from interests that are not aligned with Australia's and not aligned with those of the Pacific".

He also denied that the government was blind-sided by the document, although he did not say when Australian officials became aware of the China-Solomon Islands talks.

Australia's Minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja, was more forceful than the Prime Minister, saying Australia did not want to see an authoritarian regime coming into the Pacific's "security environment" and predicted significant pushback from other Pacific Island nations.

"If you look at some of the security challenges we have responded [to], as a Pacific family, and we don't see a role for an authoritarian regime to be obviously coming [into the] security environment into the region," Senator Seselja told the ABC.

The minister indicated he had already begun lobbying other Pacific Island states to register their concerns with Solomon Islands over the deal.

He said Australia's High Commissioner, Lachlan Strahan, had also directly registered Australia's concerns with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

"It is a draft agreement, so there will obviously be discussions taking place between our government and Solomon Islands government and [our] Pacific counterparts," he said.

"The Pacific family comes together in these circumstances. We work well together, and we don't see need in the security environment to go beyond that [region].

"It does potentially have implications and we will see, I think, significant pushback in the region."

In a formal statement issued late on Friday, Senator Seselja and Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia "respected the right of every Pacific country to make sovereign decisions" but reiterated deep-seated concerns with the proposal.

"We have regularly and respectfully raised our concerns with the Solomon Islands Government and will continue to do so," the statement reads.

"We would be particularly concerned by any actions that undermine the stability and security of our region, including the establishment of a permanent presence such as a military base."

New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, said her country's High Commissioner in Honiara would raise concerns with both Solomon Islands and China.

"Such agreements will always be the right of any sovereign country to enter into, however developments within this purported agreement could destabilise the current institutions and arrangements that have long underpinned the Pacific region's security," she said in a statement.

"This would not benefit New Zealand [nor] our Pacific neighbours."

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called on relevant parties to look at security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands "objectively and calmly and not over-interpret it".

He was responding to a question about the new security agreement asked at a regular media briefing.

"Some politicians on the Australian side have published some fallacies of so-called 'Chinese coercion' and deliberately created an atmosphere of tension, which is extremely irresponsible and does not help regional stability and development," Mr Wang added.
ABC/Reuters

Solomon Islands defends plans to expand security ties with China, as Canberra, Wellington express concern (msn.com)

suggested there was a strong "development" imperative driving the arrangement.

The chinkies deliver their "strong "development" imperatives" in cake tins.

well the australian government favours companies with visas so they can bring the pacific islanders over to pick fruit and vegetables for the wages of slaves - so they probably look at the chinkies as the better option

Look, I'm no blackbirder baldrick- but they aren't treated that badly are they?

Well they are all volunteers, a few months work in Oz and they go back home and build a house with their savings.

It is a win win - Australia and Pacific Islanders both.

(Baldrick - slaves do not get wages)

Originally Posted by sabang

A Chinese-owned car company has revealed its plans to take over the Australian car market with electric cars that are much cheaper than Tesla.

An MG executive said motorists no longer associated its famous octagonal badge with British

shit.

Excellent - crappy British cars now made in China . . . they'll have some sales but like Haval and the rest of the Chinese crap they'll not get the numbers they expect

Originally Posted by Iceman123

Well they are all volunteers, a few months work in Oz and they go back home and build a house with their savings.

Same in NZ - many will overstay their visas to keep on picking until they're caught and sent back - and they'll come again for the next season. It's a whole lot more money than they could ever dream of making in Samoa, Fiji Tonga etc . . . and they get paid the same as Kiwis, Flippies etc . . .

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the backlash to his country's security negotiations with China was "very insulting", in his first comments on a security treaty he said was ready to sign.





A file photo of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holding a welcoming ceremony for Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare ahead of their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 October, 2019. Source: Getty / Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images


The Solomon Islands' prime minister said on Tuesday that a contentious security agreement with Beijing was "ready for signing", denying reports that his country had been pressured to allow a Chinese naval base to be built in the Pacific island nation.

In an impassioned speech to parliament, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare offered little detail on the shape of the final deal beyond saying that there was "no intention whatsoever... to ask China to build a military base in the Solomon Islands".

He dismissed reports in the Australian media that his country was being "pressured by the People's Republic of China to build a military base in Solomon Islands".

"Where does that nonsense come from? The security treaty... is pursued at the request of the Solomon Islands' government," he said.

"We are not pressured. We are not pressured in any way by our new friends."

Asked in parliament about the status of the deal, Mr Sogavare said: "We will finalise and finish now. The document is ready for signing."

It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke with his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern about the proposed security agreement between the Solomon Islands and China.

A leaked draft security deal between the Solomon Islands and China showed Chinese ships would be based in the Pacific with a navy base less than 2,000 kilometres off Australia's coast.

The proposed deal has triggered concerns about the potential militarisation of the Pacific.

Mr Morrison and Ms Ardern on Tuesday discussed the deal and the actions they believe could undermine the security and stability of the Pacific region.

Mr Morrison said this week reports of the deal were, "A reminder of the constant pressure and threats that present in our region to our own national security."

Ms Ardern has expressed concerns, telling NZ radio she did not see a need for China to have a security presence in the Solomon Islands.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has travelled to Fiji to discuss the issue with Pacific leaders.


'Very insulting'


In his speech on Tuesday, Mr Sogavare confirmed that existing security arrangements with Australia would "remain intact" under the new pact with China, but added that "to achieve our security needs, it is clear that we need to diversify the country's relationship with other countries — and what is wrong with that?"

Mr Sogavare labelled concern from "many leaders" about China's presence threatening regional security in the Pacific as "unfortunate perceptions".

He said that it was "very insulting... to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs" by other nations and condemned those who had leaked the draft pact with China as "lunatics and agents of foreign regimes".

"We are not pressured in any way by our new friends and there is no intention whatsoever to ask China to build a military base in the Solomon Islands," he said.

Mr Sogavare said he had exchanged text messages with Mr Morrison on the matter and also had written him a letter on Tuesday morning.

China's growing influence in the Pacific in recent years has fed into a tense relationship with Australia, as has Canberra's strengthened military ties with the United States and other allies.

The prospect of a Chinese naval base in the South Pacific has long been a concern for Australia and the United States because it would allow Beijing to project its power deeper into the region.

Both Australia and New Zealand have confirmed their ongoing commitment to the Solomon Islands Assistance Force.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says Australia must engage more with Pacific island leaders.

"We need to be in a position whereby Australia is playing a leading role along with our allies in the Pacific because I'm very concerned about this announcement that appears to have been made in the Solomons," he told ABC radio on Monday.

"The Pacific step-up needs to be more than a slogan. It needs to be backed up by action and respect for what our Pacific island neighbours are saying, for example, about climate change.

- with AFP

Defiant Solomon Islands PM says contentious China security deal 'ready for signing' (sbs.com.au)

He dismissed reports in the Australian media that his country was being "pressured by the People's Republic of China to build a military base in Solomon Islands".

"Where does that nonsense come from? The security treaty... is pursued at the request of the Solomon Islands' government," he said.

"We are not pressured. We are not pressured in any way by our new friends."

Yeah, a well stuffed cake tin isn't really "pressure", is it?

Originally Posted by sabang

I am quite sure he is being well oiled by his new friends

Originally Posted by sabang

But if you want to get to the bottom of this bullshit

Originally Posted by sabang

he is being well oiled by his new friends

'nuff said, the rest is apologist bullshit

You're really not all that thick PH- so why do you act as if you are?

People from the Anglo security establishment are already talking about military action against the Solomon Islands because of the security treaty with China. Watch for political instability in the Solomon Islands and anomalous events

Solomon Islands-China security deal is 'gravely concerning', Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says

You mean sphere of influence right The thing you've been lecturing Russia against for 20 years.

Australia wanted to “show strong signals” to the wider Pacific, as well as the rest of the world, that Solomon Islands and the Pacific was “definitely in our collective backyard”, he said.

Is this the Russian foreign minister speaking ? No. Its Ms Ardern. Doesn't the Soloman Islands have the sovereign right to choose its alliances ?

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, on Monday afternoon, said she had raised directly the issue of Chinese police officers in the Solomon Islands with its prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, in December. “We are in the Solomons currently – we have been for a number of years. In my mind there is no need for this expansion that we've seen.

Defence Minister '''caught off guard''' by Solomon Islands-China security agreement | Stuff.co.nz

Why isn't the Solomons allowed to be 'Friends with benefits' with China? Why should that mean that ANZ cannot be friends with them too? And of all the ridiculous things, what right do you have to cast shade on the Solomons for recognizing China, when you have recognized China yourself for years? Now that's some hypocrisy.

Belt and loans in Africa not working quick enough for China. Hence the move in emphasis back to the Indo Pacific. Plenty of disagreements for the stooges to get stuck into there.
Obama saw this coming. He moved the emphasis of US forces to the Pacific, and asked the rest of NATO, (UK and EU branches) to pick up the slack in the Atlantic.

Originally Posted by sabang

You're really not all that thick PH- so why do you act as if you are?

I appreciate your post re the Solomons being a mixed bag of issues but the crux of the situation is money for the corrupt leader(s). The islands have done well under the status quo, just like most of the others, and this not going to help them in the long run.

Originally Posted by sabang

Why isn't the Solomons allowed to be 'Friends with benefits' with China?

Who is saying they can't be? This is a discussion as to whether or not that's a good idea . . . as for 'friends with benefits', why are you not that benevolent with Ukraine?

Originally Posted by sabang

You're really not all that thick PH- so why do you act as if you are?

Another good question would be: Why do you continue to try and sidetrack posts that you don't like with irrelevant, whiny bullshit?

Red wine grapes left to rot as China trade dispute leads to oversupply in Sunraysia




Wine grape harvesters have been rumbling through Sunraysia vineyards for the past two months but not all of the grapes that are picked will make their way to wineries.

Cardross wine grape grower Russell Lynch has just let 130 tonnes of shiraz drop to the ground because it was not worth anything.

Only two years ago, Mr Lynch was paid $700 a tonne for his crop, while last year it was $400 a tonne.

"In December, when you do negotiations for fruit and contracts, it was apparent there was going to be an oversupply of red grapes," he said.

"Unfortunately, I didn't have a contract for this property."

The uncontracted shiraz accounts for just 10 per cent of Mr Lynch's harvest, meaning 90 per cent of the grapes he has grown would be made into wine.

"I've had bumper crops in chardonnay, so that will take some of the pressure off," he said.

Mr Lynch, who also runs a grape harvesting business, has several other growers on his books who were looking at dumping their fruit.

"It's mostly shiraz, cabernet and merlot [and] after Easter we'll go through and knock it on the ground," he said.

No home for '15,000 tonnes'

At Trentham Estate, about 4,000 grapes were crushed during vintage — a similar amount to previous years.

Managing director Anthony Murphy said he had continued taking grapes from his regular suppliers.

"Certainly there's been plenty of growers ringing up trying to place fruit," he said.

"Talk is there could be 15,000 tonnes left on the vines in this region and there's certainly a lot of bulk wine around as well, millions of litres of wine in storage, that really hasn't got a home at this stage," he said.

China trade dispute continues

Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Tony Battaglene said a number of issues had led to red grapes being in oversupply.

"The principal reason is the closure of the market with China due to the trade dispute and the imposition of the punitive tariffs on Australian wine," he said.

"That means a $1.2 billion market is closed."

The industry was also struggling to export wine overseas because shipping had been disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"There is no short-term fix, but market diversification is obviously what we are targeting, so we've been looking at where we can get into other markets," Mr Battaglene said.

He added that this year's vintage would be close to the long-term average of between 1.7 or 1.75 million tonnes crushed.

It follows a record vintage during 2021 when more than two million tonnes of grapes were crushed.

Red wine grapes left to rot as China trade dispute leads to oversupply in Sunraysia (msn.com)



It could be worse. Retail prices have certainly adjusted downwards here in Oz- especially if you buy mixed cases, some great bargains to be had. I guess every cloud has a silver lining.

Another shining example of Chinese investment in a developing country. A $95 million white elephant.

Chinese investors promised PNG a '''gorgeous and glistening''' skyscraper. Now it stands '''dangerous''' and vacant - ABC News

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

Australia is crying over that one. Luckily for Asia the wheat harvest has doubled recently and will mean no shortages although the price of Australian wheat exports will at least double. Meanwhile China is paying more for everything else it cant wean itself off of from Australia.
Its' quest to be the dominant world economic power is entirely dependent on whether it can continue to trade with the west which it is quickly making itself an enemy of. For starters it is far too dependant on commodities from other countries. I doubt it will ever exceed the USA as the demoninant world economic power. Certainly in terms of GDP per capita it is not remotely close even to the likes of Australia let alone the USA.

Australian resources and energy export earnings tipped to hit $425 billion | The West Australian

and the poor old Chinese families no longer have access to cheap quality wine. As usual in authoritarian countries it’s normal folk that have to put up with this kind of crap.
Aus has probably found alternative export opportunities elswhere for next years crop.