China slams Aussie ‘Cold War mentality’

Beijing has taken purpose astatine the Albanese government’s inaugural nationalist defence strategy, urging Canberra to driblet its “Cold War mentality” arsenic it denied China posed immoderate hazard to determination stability.

Defence Minister Richard Marles unveiled the strategy connected Wednesday, announcing Australia would bolster its navy implicit the adjacent decennary to vie with an progressively assertive and coercive China successful pursuit of its “strategic objectives”.

He warned China’s subject physique up and tensions with the United States had created an situation “where the hazard of miscalculation is much ominous and the consequences much severe”.

Overnight, Chinese overseas ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China posed “no threat” to the region, pointing the digit alternatively astatine “major countries extracurricular the region” who posed the biggest hazard to determination security.

“We enactment committed to the bid and stableness of the Asia-Pacific portion and the wider world, and airs nary menace to immoderate country,” helium said.

In a veiled critique of the United States, Mr Lin said the enactment of “exclusive groupings” had stoked “bloc confrontation” and muddied the waters successful the South China Sea.

“As if the satellite needed immoderate much instability. China firmly opposes it,” helium said.

“We anticipation Australia volition correctly presumption China’s improvement and strategical intentions, wantonness the Cold War mentality, bash much things to support the portion peaceful and stable, and halt buzzing astir China.”

Mr Marles connected Thursday doubled down connected his comments, saying the nationalist strategy had been underpinned by the “very analyzable acceptable of strategical circumstances”.

“We are seeing a precise important subject build-up successful the region. China is engaging successful the biggest accepted subject build-up since the extremity of the Second World War. That is conscionable a fact,” helium said.

“And it does alteration the strategical landscape. It’s not conscionable ourselves, but it’s each countries of the portion and successful fact, the world.

“We request to beryllium making definite that we are the astir susceptible federation that we tin be, that we tin defy coercion.”

During his code to the National Press Club connected Wednesday, Mr Marles confirmed the defence fund would turn by $50bn implicit the adjacent decade, but conscionable 10 per cent of that would beryllium accessed successful the adjacent 4 years.

The authorities says it volition claw backmost $72bn from dumped weapons programs to wage for much submarines, ships, missiles and drones. Mr Marles said the world was the nation’s defence hinged connected corporate determination stability.

“As a mean power, we are ne'er going to bring to carnivore the benignant of subject capableness that exists successful the United States oregon China,” helium told the National Press Club.

“The strategical occupation that we are trying to meet, that we’re ­trying to solve, is making definite that successful a overmuch little definite satellite successful the future, we are capable to defy ­coercion, and support Australia’s mode of life.”

Read related topics:China