General Discussions

[LP]

Did he see the Solomon Islands fiasco coming, and if so did he do anything to head it off?

- The world had noted this coming for a long time, but they were powerless to do anything about it, as it is all about corruption. Western governments get locked up for acting like China, they have no way to compete because the situation has no counter in Western law, and the UN gives all an equal vote with the big economies the power of veto. The situation is setup for abuse by those who are morally defunct.

And if he's so concerned about the Chinese threat, why didn't he stop the lease of the Darwin Port to the Chinese?

- This is certainly a contradiction, they want the money but they wish to retain the perception of sovereignty, does it really exist? The situation has so many parallels to the way the EU works, it seems to be a common failing of western bureaucracy, like an episode of Yes Minister! I suppose you could read it as China funding the procurement of nuclear subs.

Don't give me the line that the Federal Govt didn't have any role in that deal; if he'd wanted to stop it, he could have made sure it was declared against the national interest or used the Fed Govt's power over a territory to bring it to heel. It seems he's only interested in playing the tough guy by lobbing insults or doing a deal for nuclear submarines in 2038.

- The insults are for the general public, the nuclear subs are because the UK and USA have basically stated unless we carry our share of regional policing we cannot expect help. Knowledge is power, and the most influential and powerful aspect of a nuclear submarine is it's ability to sit off the coast of a foreign entity and gather information in virtually complete anonymity.

Personally, I think the subs were the right thing to do, especially now we see what is going on in Ukraine. Australia could have asked the French for a nuclear option but the confidence they would support Australia rather than remain neutral or even become sympathetic to China is pretty low, more than once in recent years France has chosen the East over the West, so we went for the option that brought with it a strengthening of our traditional ally. Of course historically this has always been the game the French play, they walk the fence line waiting to identify the victor before stepping one way or the other.

The idea that it puts us at greater risk is bit absurd, China has no regard for convention and it will roll across allies and the defenceless when it suits it to do so. If you are weak and defenceless China will step on you like a child steps on an ant, old world China has very little humanity, it likes to pick on weaker opponents so it runs an operation like Belt and Road.