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Marles is looking to place down the question of Australian involvement in any invasion of Taiwan by China.
Speers: Just on this point in return for access to these Virginia Class subs, has Australia given the United States any sort of commitment, explicitly, implicitly, that we will be there in the event of a conflict over Taiwan?
Marles: The answer to that is of course not. Of course not. And nor was one sought. I’ve listened to that conjecture from a number of commentators. It is plain wrong.
Most of our liquid fuels, most what we need we import from Singapore. One trading route right there which goes to the heart of our economy.
There is an assertion of a sovereignty in respect of the South China Sea which is not consistent with the UN convention of the Law of the Sea, and international courts have made that point. So we observe that.
We observe the fact that in the year 2000, China had six nuclear-powered submarines, by the end of this decade, they will have 21. the year 2000, they had 57 surface ships. By the end of this decade, they will have 200. This is a very big military build-up.
It shapes the strategic landscape in which we live. And now in saying all of that, we want the best relationship with China that we can have.
Continue reading…Follow all the day’s newsGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastMarles is looking to place down the question of Australian involvement in any invasion of Taiwan by China.Speers: Just on this point in return for access to these Virginia Class subs, has Australia given the United States any sort of commitment, explicitly, implicitly, that we will be there in the event of a conflict over Taiwan?Marles: The answer to that is of course not. Of course not. And nor was one sought. I’ve listened to that conjecture from a number of commentators. It is plain wrong.Most of our liquid fuels, most what we need we import from Singapore. One trading route right there which goes to the heart of our economy.There is an assertion of a sovereignty in respect of the South China Sea which is not consistent with the UN convention of the Law of the Sea, and international courts have made that point. So we observe that.We observe the fact that in the year 2000, China had six nuclear-powered submarines, by the end of this decade, they will have 21. the year 2000, they had 57 surface ships. By the end of this decade, they will have 200. This is a very big military build-up.It shapes the strategic landscape in which we live. And now in saying all of that, we want the best relationship with China that we can have. Continue reading…