Prashasti Singh on Hindi, Anxiety and the Divine Feminine
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The Age
20 minutes ago
- The Age
US wants to know how Australia would use subs if America goes to war
Washington: The Pentagon has confirmed it is asking Australia for undertakings on how its AUKUS submarines would be used in the event of US military conflicts and for 'substantial increases' in defence spending as part of its review of the $368 billion agreement. A senior US defence official, who requested anonymity to speak freely, said the Trump administration wanted a clear idea of how Australia would deploy the nuclear-powered boats in the event of a contingency, though this was much broader than conflict with China over Taiwan. 'There's a conversation about command structure, about alignment of assets. We would want, in any scenario, a clear sense of what we can expect from Australia,' he told this masthead in an interview. 'There seems to be a hyper-emphasis on Taiwan in public reporting. But this is broader than any one particular contingency. It is about how we can reasonably expect these kinds of critical assets to be allocated across different scenarios.' This masthead can also reveal that the Pentagon's AUKUS review focuses on four areas: command structure, the US's capacity to produce the boats, posture (positioning) of the assets and Australian defence spending. Meanwhile, US Undersecretary of Defence Elbridge Colby, who is heading the review, publicly confirmed reports that the US wanted its allies such as Australia and Japan to 'step up' and make commitments about how they would act in the event of a conflict. Loading Colby said the Pentagon was implementing US President Donald Trump's commonsense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength. 'That includes by urging allies to step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence,' he said, noting it applied in both Europe and Asia.
Sydney Morning Herald
20 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
US wants to know how Australia would use subs if America goes to war
Washington: The Pentagon has confirmed it is asking Australia for undertakings on how its AUKUS submarines would be used in the event of US military conflicts and for 'substantial increases' in defence spending as part of its review of the $368 billion agreement. A senior US defence official, who requested anonymity to speak freely, said the Trump administration wanted a clear idea of how Australia would deploy the nuclear-powered boats in the event of a contingency, though this was much broader than conflict with China over Taiwan. 'There's a conversation about command structure, about alignment of assets. We would want, in any scenario, a clear sense of what we can expect from Australia,' he told this masthead in an interview. 'There seems to be a hyper-emphasis on Taiwan in public reporting. But this is broader than any one particular contingency. It is about how we can reasonably expect these kinds of critical assets to be allocated across different scenarios.' This masthead can also reveal that the Pentagon's AUKUS review focuses on four areas: command structure, the US's capacity to produce the boats, posture (positioning) of the assets and Australian defence spending. Meanwhile, US Undersecretary of Defence Elbridge Colby, who is heading the review, publicly confirmed reports that the US wanted its allies such as Australia and Japan to 'step up' and make commitments about how they would act in the event of a conflict. Loading Colby said the Pentagon was implementing US President Donald Trump's commonsense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength. 'That includes by urging allies to step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence,' he said, noting it applied in both Europe and Asia.
Perth Now
35 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Aus prepared for Chinese spies at war games
Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy says the Australian Defence Force is prepared for China to observe the major Talisman Sabre military exercises between the United States and Australia and would 'adjust accordingly'. While Mr Conroy said the most 'up-to-date information' was that Chinese surveillance vessels had not yet been spotted, he said it 'would be unusual' for that activity not the occur given Beijing have done so since 2017. The biennial war games involve more than 30,000 military personnel from Australia and the US, plus 19 partner nations including New Zealand, the UK, Japan, Papua New Guinea and France. The activities will run from Sunday to August 4 in locations across Queensland, Western Australia, NSW, the Northern Territory and for the first time since the games began in 2005, Papua New Guinea. 'People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we'll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage,' he said. Chinese spy ships were spotted at the last Talisman Sabre exercises in 2023. Supplied/ Defence Credit: Supplied Mr Conroy, who also holds the portfolio for defence industry and Pacific Island affairs, said the likely involvement of Chinese surveillance would also allow Australia and its allies to practice how to convey that information, and repeatedly stressed the ADF was ready. 'I think it'll be a two way process, but when we conduct these exercises, we're always cognisant that they're being observed by people who want to collect information about how we work with our allies, how we communicate with our allies and partners, and you manage that accordingly in a sensitive way,' he said. 'That's what the Australian people would expect our Australian Defence Force to do, and we'll continue to do that. 'But again, I'll say the Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017 and it'd be very unusual if they didn't do that this time.' The question of China's presence at the significant war games comes as Anthony Albanese arrives in China for a six-day trip, in which he will need to balance Australia and China's $312bn economic trade relationship with recurrent geopolitical tensions. This comes after Chinese warships were spotted circumnavigating Australia's exclusive economic zone in late March, and an incident in February in which commercial Virgin pilots alerted Defence of the Chinese navy conducting live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea. Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy said it would be 'unusual' for China not to spy on the Talisman Sabre events. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia While Foreign Minister Penny Wong reportedly raised the security issue with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi while in Malaysia on Friday, Mr Conroy would not confirm or deny whether the Prime Minister would do the same. However he said the government has repeatedly and publicly raised concern of China's 'very significant' military build up, and reiterated calls for more transparency around its actions. 'We've been very clear, both publicly and privately, that we thought that China should have provided more notice about its live firing exercise,' he said. 'We normally give 12 to 24 hours notice before a live firing exercise, they gave notice, but we regarded that as insufficient. We'll continue to articulate and raise that, both publicly and privately.' Mr Albanese touched down in Shanghai on Saturday evening and while the first leg of his trip will focus on promoting Australia's tourism links with China, he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he travels to Beijing.
