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Herald Sun
13 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
Trump tariff threat clouds final day of BRICS summit
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. US President Donald Trump's decision to hit "anti-American" BRICS nations -- including China and India -- with an extra 10 percent trade tariff roiled the final day of the bloc's summit in Rio de Janeiro Monday. Trump threatened the 11-nation grouping -- which includes some of the world's fastest-emerging economies -- late on Sunday, after they warned against his "indiscriminate," damaging and illegal tariff hikes. "Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff," Trump wrote on social media. BRICS members account for about half the world's population and 40 percent of global economic output. Members China, Russia and South Africa responded coolly to Trump's latest verbal barrage, insisting the bloc was not seeking confrontation with Washington. But host Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was less diplomatic. "We are sovereign nations," Lula said. "We don't want an emperor." Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, BRICS has come to be seen as a Chinese-driven effort to curb US global influence. But it is a quickly expanding and often divergent grouping -- bringing together arch US foes like Iran and Russia, with some of Washington's closest allies in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Some US allies inside the bloc had tried to blunt criticism of Trump by not mentioning him or the United States by name in the summit statement. Saudi Arabia -- one of the biggest purchasers of US high-tech weapons -- even kept its foreign minister away from Sunday's talks and a BRICS group photo, seemingly to avoid Washington's ire. But such diplomatic gestures were lost on the US president who said "there will be no exceptions to this policy." - No shows - In April, Trump threatened a slew of punitive duties on dozens of economies, before backing off in the face of a fierce market sell-off. Now he is threatening to impose unilateral levies on trading partners unless they reach "deals" by August 1, with BRICS nations seemingly faced with higher tariffs than planned. It cannot have helped that BRICS leaders also condemned the recent US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities -- a show of solidarity with fellow member Iran. Beijing on Monday insisted BRICS was not seeking confrontation with the United States. "China has repeatedly stated its position that trade and tariff wars have no winners and protectionism offers no way forward," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Beijing also defended the bloc as "an important platform for cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries." "It advocates openness, inclusivity, and win-win cooperation," Mao said. "It does not engage in camp confrontation and is not targeted at any country," she added. The Kremlin echoed that message with spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling Russian media that BRICS cooperation "has never been and will never be directed against third countries." The political punch of this year's summit has been depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who skipped the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. The Chinese leader is not the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, also opted to stay away, participating via video link. He told counterparts that BRICS had become a key player in global governance. arb/aks Originally published as Trump tariff threat clouds final day of BRICS summit
The Advertiser
28 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Big girls do cry - and macho men, too
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth."
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
-
A military invasion of Taiwan would reignite the Korean Peninsula, turning a regional conflict with China into a worst-case World War Three style scenario that would involve Australia, senior Japanese military figures have warned. Sky News recently spoke to two Japanese Admirals – one of whom is still serving, the other, retired but well placed. Both gave their thoughts freely on condition of anonymity. If the People's Liberation Army was to move on Taiwan, the retired admiral believed the PLA would have to strike US forces strategically located on the Japanese island of Okinawa, 650 kilometres from Taiwan's capital, Taipei. Around 30,000 US personnel are located on the island, including US Marines. With its location directly east of the Chinese mainland, the Kadena Airbase has been referred to as the 'Keystone of the Pacific.' 'We always talk about Okinawa issue… but I don't believe that China can separate Taiwan from Okinawa,' the retired Admiral told Sky News, describing his country as 'entrapped.' 'If China decides to invade Taiwan … at that point of time, they have already decided, okay, there is no way that they can excuse Okinawa which means to a certain degree the United States must also be part of their enemy.' The conflict would also trigger another equally dangerous flashpoint, the Korean peninsula. In the event of American involvement, US assets based in South Korea would seek to intercept PLA ships and submarines leaving naval bases in the Yellow Sea. Pyongyang's alliance with Beijing, and Seoul's to Washington make this a nuclear tinderbox. 'If something happened over the Taiwan Strait, there is no way that North and South (Korea) would not do anything … ultimately, some kind of conflict would be ignited on the Korean peninsula,' the retired Admiral told this masthead. 'From the Yellow Sea … Chinese forces must come out … Will South Korea just let them go? Many American … forces are there, so they are almost automatically trapped.' 'They will have no other choice but to engage as the result of the American participation.' The retired Admiral believed this would draw Australia into the conflict, 'Australia has signed the armistice of the Korean peninsula, so Australia is obliged to come if something happens on the Korean Peninsula.' He believed Australian forces would also be expected to tie up Chinese assets in the Indo-Pacific. 'While (Australia's) number (and) capacity is not very big … they (have) very capable forces to bring the Chinese attention down south. 'What I mean is, if something happens, simply put Australia can keep the southern forces of China (in) the south.' Asked if this meant attracting Chinese forces, the Admiral said, 'Yes. That's right. That's one of the merits for us if Australis is an ally.' 'As long as you are visible in the south, China must take care,' he said. 'Another thing (that) Australia can do, even during the war, (it) can do many things with (the Pacific) island nations,' said the retired Admiral, noting the theatre would once again be crucial. 'This war cannot be limited within the so called, 'first island chain,'' he said. 'Definitely it will go out.' While Australia has no formal alliance with Japan, both nations are de-facto allies and economically dependent. Tokyo views Canberra as its second most important strategic relationship behind Washington due to Australia's democratic values and resource wealth. 'The danger is not imminent but visible,' noted the retired admiral. But when it came to grey-zone conflict and espionage, 'the difficult point is what is war now?' he said. JAPAN'S STRATEGY From across the ocean, Japan faces three nuclear armed potential enemies: Russia, North Korea and China. While Australia enjoyed a 'ten-year warning time' Sky News was told for Tokyo, each new decade seemed to usher in a different threat. If war breaks out, the serving admiral told Sky News that Japan would move to immediately lay mines to the north to prevent a Russian response and to its south to lock the PLA Navy within the First Island Chain – thus preventing it from fully breaking out into the Indo-Pacific. Terrified it could be isolated, Japan is building a fleet of fast frigates at a rate of two per year. Production will soon move to three frigates annually across three shipyards. Each new frigate is armed with 16 vertical launch missile cells – double the number of our retiring ANZAC class frigates. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will soon roll out a larger frigate, its Mogami FFM with 32 VLS cells. Japan's naval strategy is to use these frigates - rather than more expensive destroyers - to protect convoys critical to its national survival. It estimates it will have to surround or 'screen' each convoy with between five and eight warships, similar to a carrier strike group. These convoys will have to travel to the middle east for oil and south to Australia. Japan knows it needs our natural gas, coal, iron ore for steel and rare earths for weapons. The Australian government is currently considering the Mogami FFM under its Project Sea 3000 tender along with a German bid by TKMS. What makes Japan's bid unique, however, it that is goes beyond production. Japan seeks to allow Australia to construct the warships to boost allied warfighting capabilities and service its own damaged vessels in the event of conflict. Japan is effectively handing over its intellectual property at a discount rate to maintain its access to the minerals and resources its population needs. With Australia having lost much of its manufacturing sector, and with Defence struggling like other nations to deliver projects on time and budget, Sky News understands Japan's offer is in essence, 'We can design and build the ships you need, just arm yourselves with interoperable weapons to protect the supply lines that will make the defence of both of our nations possible' Jonathan recently travelled to Japan as a guest of its government and major shipbuilder, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
