Een Australische generaal heeft gewaarschuwd voor oorlog met China. Ook de minister van Defensie zegt dat oorlog met China een realistisch vooruitzicht is.
Top Australian general warns of ‘high likelihood’ of war with ChinaOne of Australia’s top generals reportedly told troops there was a “high likelihood” of war with China in a leaked briefing last year.One of Australia’s top generals reportedly told troops there was a “high likelihood” of war with China in a leaked briefing last year.
Major-General Adam Findlay gave the candid and confidential briefing to Australia’s special forces soldiers last year, according to a report in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday.
General Findlay, who has since stepped down but still advises the Australian Defence Force, reportedly said that China was already engaged in “grey zone” warfare and that Australia must prepare for the “high likelihood” it could spill over into actual conflict.
“Who do you reckon the main (regional) threat is?” General Findlay asked his troops and officers before answering: “China.”
He continued: “OK, so if China is a threat, how many special forces brigades in China? You should know there are 26,000 Chinese SOF (Special Operations Forces) personnel.”
It comes as Australia’s former chief of operations in Iraq says war with China is a genuine threat – and he warns Australia is not ready for what’s coming.
Writing in The Australian newspaper on Monday, Senator Jim Molan delivered a bleak assessment of Australia’s preparedness for a war that he says is “likely”.
It wouldn’t start as a direct war between Australia and China, but would more likely be a war that Australia could find itself fighting on behalf of its most powerful ally, Senator Molan said.
“Many ordinary Australians, not just those who have personally experienced global conflict, are awakening to the sombre reality that war is not just possible in our region, but likely,” he wrote.
“Armed to the teeth, adversaries are manoeuvring ships and planes around each other, intimidating and threatening, loaded with real weapons of war, forging alliances.”
He said Australia would be making a mistake if leaders do not act now to strengthen a military that is not capable of winning a war against “a peer opponent”.
War ‘should not be discounted’The comments add to weeks of back of forth between Australia and China – two nations that are doing a lot of talking despite not talking directly.
If you missed it, things really kicked off when Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo, in an Anzac Day address to staff, said the “drums of war beat”. Those comments made headlines around the world.
Defence Minister Petter Dutton told the ABC the same day that war with China is a realistic prospect.
“I don’t think it should be discounted,” he said. “People need to be realistic.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison chimed in, telling Sydney’s Daily Telegraph that Australia will be prepared for whatever comes.
“Our focus is on pursuing peace, stability and a free and open Indo-Pacific, with a world order that favours freedom,” Mr Morrison said.
“Working with the United States, our allies and Indo-Pacific neighbours, we will continue advance Australia’s interests by investing in the Australian Defence Force, particularly across Northern Australia.”
Just this morning, Foreign Minister Marise Payne warned Australia would not take a backwards step to China.
“We do not try to buy influence to advantage our individual countries; rather, we know that a stable, secure neighbourhood of sovereign states, in which we have networks of familiarity and
trust, are good, safe places for our people to live and thrive,” she said.
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