AUKUS News, Views, Analysis.

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getready

Senior Member
Michaelsinodef said:
Rules for thee, not for me lol

Anyways lets see what they are gonna do I suppose.
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The response has kinda cooled abit since. The murdoch media umbrella obviously hyping it and leading the charge. But SMH has more muted follow up. Russo Ukraine war is back leading the headlines.

My perspective on this after following local media on China almost daily is they are surprised and also not that surprised by this news. For long time, we have constant hyping up of China threat in our media. Not that long ago, we have also seen multiple reports of China increasing their presence in Aussie "back yard" ie. Oceania and Australia see its as a threat.
At first I just dismissed it as another of their anti china paranoia along with their media reports of chinese interference on aus domestic politics, Chinese spying, politicians with shady links to Chinese tycoons etc. that were supposedly briefed by aus intelligence

Maybe this time they actually know something instead of rumour mongering of China threat. Probably not discussion of a security pact or a base but something big already.

The election is close so this will be interesting. News out today is the newly installed Chinese ambassador to Australia was seeking a meeting with scomo but was declined. I dun know if this was after or before the news of Solomon Island came out though.
 
Lethe

Lethe

Captain
getready said:
The election is close so this will be interesting. News out today is the newly installed Chinese ambassador to Australia was seeking a meeting with scomo but was declined. I dun know if this was after or before the news of Solomon Island came out though.
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This is pure political posturing. In the last few months Scott Morrison has been trying to portray the Coalition as "tough on China" and argues that China "wants Labor to win the election". So in the lead-up to the election, the last thing Morrison wants is to engage in productive dialogue with China that could dampen or complicate this message.

That the Morrison government is so quick to discard the national interest -- which clearly favours dialogue with China -- in favour of its own narrow electoral interests is just one more reason why they should be thrown out of office.
 
G

getready

Senior Member
Lethe said:
This is pure political posturing. In the last few months Scott Morrison has been trying to portray the Coalition as "tough on China" and argues that China "wants Labor to win the election". So in the lead-up to the election, the last thing Morrison wants is to engage in productive dialogue with China that could dampen or complicate this message.

That the Morrison government is so quick to discard the national interest -- which clearly favours dialogue with China -- in favour of its own narrow electoral interests is just one more reason why they should be thrown out of office.
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Yes scomo is trying to project a tough image in national security just like when his party appeared tough on refugee boats to secure the borders policy, but it won't save him this time.

The covid disaster along with recent mishandling of the floods coupled with his previous snafu with bushfires, climate change will all be more important issues on voters mind. Appearing to stand up to China will be less important compared to domestic issue. Polls even indicate most Aussies prefer a working relationship with their largest trading partner. Screenshot_20220327_041721.jpg
 
B

B.I.B.

Captain
getready said:
Yes scomo is trying to project a tough image in national security just like when his party appeared tough on refugee boats to secure the borders policy, but it won't save him this time.

The covid disaster along with recent mishandling of the floods coupled with his previous snafu with bushfires, climate change will all be more important issues on voters mind. Appearing to stand up to China will be less important compared to domestic issue. Polls even indicate most Aussies prefer a working relationship with their largest trading partner. View attachment 85992
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So ScoMo will tolerate a Chinese naval base in the Solomons?
 
Lethe

Lethe

Captain
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SYDNEY (Reuters) -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 proposed security treaty.

Sogavare told his parliament on Tuesday a leaked security document with China was a draft and he would not give details on the content of any proposed deal.

"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.

He added that Solomon Islands had previously asked Australia to build a naval base and this was refused, because Australia said it was inappropriate given its defence programme with Papua New Guinea.

"We have no intention, Mr Speaker, of pitching into any geopolitical power struggle," he said, adding the Pacific islands nation would not "pick sides".
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Of course it is insulting. The arrogance and sense of entitlement in Canberra is matched only by the ridiculousness of their anxiety. The distance between Honiara and Brisbane is similar to the distance between Berlin and Moscow. The great majority of the planet lives with the "threat" of unfriendly capabilities (let alone the much more limited resupply/logistics facilities that actually seem to be proposed here) much closer to home than this.

For Beijing, of course, the task will be to contrast China's hands-off approach to relations that respects the dignity and autonomy of the Solomon Islands with the arrogant paternalism of the Australians.
 
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