The drums of conflict in the Pacific keep beating – NZ must refuse war
China defends buzzing US warship in Taiwan Strait, accuses US of provoking Beijing
China’s defence minister has defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world’s top defence officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called “freedom of navigation” patrols are a provocation to China.
In his first international public address since becoming defence minister in March, General Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China doesn’t have any problems with “innocent passage” but that “we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation.”
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum on Saturday that Washington would not “flinch in the face of bullying or coercion” from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasise they are international waters, countering Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims
if China was sailing warships off the Coast of America, the US would open fire!
China sees America’s encroachment in their sphere of influence as provocation and we are increasingly seeing these friction encounters between American patrolling military and Chinese forces.
NZ does not want to get dragged into a war between America and China and if we are serious about an Independent Foreign Policy, we have to accept Neutrality is going to cost us a lot more.
The Māori Party suggestion of neutrality is worth considering.
I believe that the climate crisis means we need a vastly larger military to cope with civil disasters and if we are attempting to distance ourselves from China and America, we need to make a decision to dramatically lift what we spend on the military for purely defensive and civil disaster capacity.
How would we go about defending the realm of NZ and all our economic exclusive zone?
We can’t pull away from America and China and pretend there is no cost to being Independent.
We need to increase Military GDP spending to 5%. Interestingly Labour have quietly ratcheted GDP military spending from just over 1% to just under 2%.
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We have watched USA destroy the German economy by blowing Nordstream and sanctions. They won’t give a toss about us as collateral damage either. To hell with them until they can reform their internal corruption.
Neutrality is our only hope.
Nick+J. It’s well that Hollywood-smitten Key is out and possibly his dim acolytes in the Nats are less venal and self-serving, but that’s a long-shot; Ardern gone is another plus, pity Peters isn’t FM.
“if China was sailing warships off the Coast of America, the US would open fire!”. I don’t agree Martyn, the US (or Australia etc) have not had an ‘open fire’ response to unwelcome CCP naval ‘visits’.
Most major naval powers routinely sail off each others coasts, sail behind each others naval exercises in international waters etc. China has sailed intelligence gathering warships into Australian EEZ waters several times in recent years. Everyone does this to an extent.
The difference is that the CCP is unusually aggressive in their responses – eg firing a laser at the Australian pilots flying in Australian EEZ checking out a Chinese military ship (search for ‘laser P8 raaf’). Or the cutting off manoeuvre pictured at the top of your column.
As for NZ ‘refusing’ war – NZ may have no interest in war, however war may have an interest in NZ. We are whitebait in a sea of sharks.
Reasoned and fair comments MG – good luck getting through to the rabid anti-US sinophile’s on here.
MG interesting points you seem to know about this stuff. Question does China run freedom of navigation missions in the 140km of Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Florida like US do freedom of navigation in the 180km wide Taiwan Straight?
We cannot economically distance ourselves from China without severe economic consequences to ourselves and we show no signs of resisting US influence, henceforth, the only real, predictable civil disaster on the horizon is civil disobedience as we, the people,bear the brunt of government actions, in this case, cutting ties with China and going to war for the USA. These actions, and most likely other actions to follow, will lead to greater civil unrest, henceforth, the real need to beef up the military….
War – a regular contest it seems. While looking up history of Cornwall where some of my relatives came from I saw this. They were preparing for possible war, the English, after France and Spain signed a peace treaty. Henry Vlll didn’t get to where he was by not being a plotter ready to seize and capture the moment of advantage. And so it goes…
…The inclusion of Pendennis and St Mawes Castles suggest that the drawing was made after the 1540s, when the two castles were built. These castles formed part of a defensive chain built by King Henry VIII (1491–1547) after a peace treaty was signed by King Francis I of France (1494–1547) and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain (1500–1550) in 1538, making invasion of England probable.
This drawing was probably made as a record of this vulnerable area of the coast for defensive purposes. It is possible that this drawing may date from 1598–1599 when the military engineer Paul Ivey was responsible for strengthening St Mawes and Pendennis following the threat posed by the 3rd Spanish Armada to England, and the Cornish coast, in 1597…
So what defensive measures are open to us. Give up and avoid all that awkward messy business of trying to hold what people think of as theirs. Peace at any price? The poor always pay the most though having the least.