It’s no secret that the United States is shifting strategic focus to China. This process has been going on for decades, but is catching pace in recent times. It should be noted that both the troubled Biden and the new Trump administrations have been quite consistent in this regard, despite perceived differences in their approach to Russia and internal policies. Namely, Washington DC keeps using the mythical “China threat” to strengthen US military assets in the Asia-Pacific (a process started under the Obama administration and continued during Trump’s first term). Needless to say, the role of numerous American vassals and satellite states in the vast maritime region is of supreme importance for the Pentagon’s so-called “China containment” strategy.

However, Beijing’s growing missile arsenal and other forms of kinetic power projection mean that these island territories are no longer enough to provide a safe haven for US military assets. In addition, America needs a stronger ally it can rely on and none of these small countries can play that role, particularly not against a colossus such as China. This leaves Australia as the perfect puppet to be exploited. Although its population is relatively low, it still has a massive territory and a strong economic base that can provide certain advantages to Washington DC’s power projection capabilities. It should be noted that Canberra itself doesn’t need any of this, but the lack of sovereignty severely limits its ability to create an independent foreign policy framework.

Worse yet, Australia might fall into a trap of thinking it’s relatively safe and isolated from the consequences of US-aligned policies in the wider region, forcing China to remind it that such illusions are unnecessary and........

© Blitz