The only time rhetorically they overcome their military reticence is when speaking in the context of reunification with Taiwan, protecting their militarised South China Sea islands and islets and confronting Japan over the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. [...] 4 24 February 2023 The Dragon Throne The Russo-Ukraine war is not just a threat to European security but also an attack upon one of the fundamental principles that underpin the entire post- war global structure and which has broadly preserved the peace for almost 80 years: the Rule of Law. [...] China is determined to develop a world in which the world order defers to states and their rulers rather than a body of law developed by more liberal Western democracies; they seek to reinstate the Dragon Throne and demand the suzerainty they believe they deserve. [...] The United States has been a major supplier of weapons to its allies in the region including Ukraine, and the prospect of China supplying weapons to Russia would be viewed as a significant threat to American interests. [...] When push comes to shove, Australia will always back and support America’s lead in the international order because of the centrality placed on the 1951 ANZUS Treaty27 and the new 2021 AUKUS28 security arrangement, even if this comes at a great financial cost to itself.
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- Published in
- Australia
