Letter

In response to Abandoning our fears: how Australia should respond to US-China regional confront

When misplaced fears become phobias

Clear analysis from Professor Gareth Evans. Max gratitude.

Not only would any contribution to a Taiwan battle be militarily insignificant, the response to our engagement by a riled Beijing could be effected without them sending any military force our way. We have near zero maritime capacity. We don’t own or don’t crew the trading vessels. They are foreign owned by entities we have no leverage with. But China does.

China could bring Australian trade to a halt, by decree, without sending a single warship to sea. By the proverbial stroke of a pen they could announce an embargo:

“From the 8th of [insert date six months ahead] any vessel that has visited an Australian port in the previous three months will be banned from all Chinese ports. Any business or entity that operates ships that visit Australia may have all other vessels it operates also banned from Chinese ports.”

In Morrison’s term, Beijing displayed a willingness to punish Australia with trade, as if an analogue for the US, and that was when the WTO still meant something.

— Dave Young from NQ