The US will expand its military presence in Australia to increase pressure on China, according to an editorial in the Beijing-based English-language Global Times (GT). The journalists reproach the White House for being a source of tension in East Asia: the US actions are aggravating the security situation.
“Chinese analysts on Sunday warned of growing instability in the Asia-Pacific region, where the US will provoke an arms race with larger military exercises and the deployment of more strategic weapons following a recent agreement between the US and Australia to expand the US military presence in this southern continent to contain China’s development,” the GT piece said.
The US and Australia, according to the publication, will deepen military ties under this treaty as both countries seek to suppress China’s growing influence and also try to interfere in the issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Such conclusions by Chinese journalists come against the backdrop of statements by US news agency Bloomberg and Australian publication ABC. It is reported that changes in military cooperation between Washington and Canberra include, among other things, more frequent and longer visits by US submarines to Australia, regular rotation of warships to the US and co-operation in the production of guided missiles, as well as deepening security relations with other countries in the region, especially Japan.
GT, citing Chinese analytical circles, points out: The US is using Australia as a “forward base while strengthening its military presence” in the country. Washington seeks to make Australia part of its military-industrial chain by sharing the burden of producing weapons and military equipment. Thus, security in the Asia-Pacific region is declining, and the US is becoming a real source of tension.
The reason for this activity is explained by Chinese analysts, according to a Chinese publication, as follows.
Since other US allies in the region – Japan, South Korea and the Philippines – are located in close proximity to China’s shores, and Chinese military potential is increasing, both these countries and the Washington-controlled island of Guam (in the western Pacific Ocean, where the US strategic naval base is located – Regnum IA note) will find themselves in a high-risk zone in the event of an armed conflict with China.
“Australia is further away from China, so the U.S. is promoting the construction of bases and increasing the rotation and deployment of U.S. troops there,” the authors of the material point out.
They also draw attention to the statement of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on July 29, who promised that the US will help Australia to establish production of guided missiles by 2025.
“This will provide Australia with stronger military research and development capabilities so that Australia can produce missiles and munitions for the US,” GT quoted Beijing analysts as saying.
Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told GT that in the event of military action involving the US, Australia as its important supply base and ammunition depot could also be targeted. In this situation, the White House will be able to sacrifice Australia in order to maintain the security of its domestic production base. According to the analyst, “during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the large consumption of ammunition from US military supplies exposed the problem of production capacity of the US military-industrial chain, so the country is trying to urgently fill the shortage.”
At the same time, the expert referred to the “Pacific Deterrence Initiative” announced by the Pentagon in March. It means that the US is seeking to build as many military bases as possible in case some of them are destroyed. “And the bases in Australia and Guam are important reserve bases for the US in case of conflict,” Sun Junping clarified.
And the joint statement of the US and Australia, according to GT, implies “regular and prolonged” visits of US submarines to the HMAS Stirling naval base in western Australia as part of the programme to integrate it into the military bloc AUKUS (military alliance of Australia, the UK and the US – Regnum IA note), the implementation of which is to begin in 2027.
In turn, Yu Lei, chief researcher at Liaocheng University, noted in an interview with GT that “the US will provide Australia with more advanced weapons and military technology to improve the combat capability of the Australian army, which actually creates risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Australia.”
“This raises concerns in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and even India,” the expert said.
According to Song Zhongping, the US is “willing to sacrifice the national security of its allies to achieve its own hegemony.”
In summary, Chinese analysts predicted that in such a situation, US military aviation, its navy, including the AUKUS block nuclear submarines, and other weapons and equipment will increasingly use Australia as a base “to conduct short-range reconnaissance and provocative exercises around China.” At the same time, the US and Australia “will stockpile more munitions and equipment to try to invade the Taiwan Strait”.
The trilateral AUKUS alliance, it will be recalled, was formed in 2021. One of the projects under this agreement was the construction of nuclear submarines for Australia. However, as US President Joe Biden explained, the submarines to be sent to Australia under the AUKUS bloc will be equipped with nuclear propulsion systems, but will not carry nuclear weapons.
The AUKUS alliance is fully open to engaging with New Zealand, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on 26 July, Agence France-Presse reported. The White House allowed the bloc to expand in the long term at the expense of US partners in Europe and Asia.
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