Australia’s Shock Defense Wake-up Call
‘Down under’ isn’t that far away from trouble
By: Andy Wong Ming Jun
If there were ever any lingering doubts as to the pressing necessity for Australia’s defense posture to evolve away from close-shore mentalities of simply defending the homeland continent Down Under, they were thoroughly erased by a successful Chinese naval live fire drill in February that was pointedly conducted in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.
Embarrassingly, Canberra only found out about the unannounced Chinese naval operational training voyage after two commercial airliners received last-minute, impromptu warnings from Chinese naval warships to steer clear of the live-fire training airspace above their task force -- exposing the absolute scarcity of Australia’s defense and intelligence capability, particularly in the maritime realm.
The Chinese incursion is testimony to the fact that Australia has always been regarded as a strategic backwater topic when it comes to wider regional mainstream discourse concerning the Asia-Pacific region, even as the Southwest Pacific theater has become increasingly contested with Chinese influence muscling in to fill the vacuum left by two decades of persistent American political neglect…
This is a preview sent to free subscribers like you. The full content of this article is available exclusively to our paid subscribers.
To enjoy the complete Asia Sentinel experience and access more in-depth, independent reporting, please consider subscribing for just US$10/month or US$100/year.
Support independent journalism. Subscribe today.