Australia Preparing for War With China

May 14, 2022 (EIRNS)—Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defense Minister Peter Dutton are trying to outdo Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Prime Minister Boris Johnson as war-mongering buffoons. On April 25, Anzac Day, (the Australian-New Zealand Memorial Day) Dutton compared China and Russia to Nazi Germany and militarist Japan in the 1930s and called to prepare for war: “We’re in a period very similar to the 1930s now—that’s the sober reality of the intelligence we receive.” He added that “to prepare for peace we must prepare for war,” and ranted about the build-up of the Australian military and cooperation with the U.S. and the British to prepare for war.

U.S. National Security Council Asia czar Kurt Campbell visited the Solomon Islands on April 22, following a security agreement signed between the Solomon Islands and China, which a White House statement described as a “significant concern” and that the U.S. would “respond accordingly” to any perceived Chinese “threat.” Morrison went further on Anzac Day: “This is a shared concern, not just Australia, but with regional governments, working together with our partners in New Zealand and of course the United States. I share the same red line with the U.S., when it comes to these issues.”

A Chinese military ship sailed near the Australian west coast, in territorial waters, on April 26, setting off new hysteria. Dutton ranted that this was an “act of aggression” (keep in mind that the Aussies regularly take part in the provocative “freedom of navigation” voyages in the South China Sea in areas considered territorial waters by China). Morrison said this simple voyage “highlights the serious times we are in and why we are working with the U.S. and the U.K. for defense.”