Sydney Institute director Gerard Henderson's latest Media Watchdog blog makes for entertaining reading. The Drum, a current affairs and news discussion programme, the panelists were discussing the newly formed AUKUS defence alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
True to form, if this excerpt is any indication, they regurgitated leftist clichés which assert that in foreign affairs and defence matters, Australia is subservient to the United States. In their way of thinking, America is an oppressive, imperialist power. They also insinuate that the AUKUS alliance is an unprovoked act of aggression towards China, appearing to ignore that it is building up its military, and clearly has ambitions to become a superpower, creating a network of client states through its Belt and Road Initiative.
Is it not prudent policy to preemptively form alliances to counter potential or real threats to international stability? More substantive and nuanced analysis, such as that produced in a recent report from the Lowy Institute, concludes that China is a potential threat to Australia. Likewise, Chinese President Xi Jinping's threats against the West should not be dismissed as political theatre. He clearly has global ambitions for his country. The question is how they will be achieved.
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