‘You will be dominated': Huge China warning
The warning comes as Talisman Sabre, Australia's biggest war-games, reaches its tail end.
Some 35,000 troops from 19 of the country's allies are taking part in the military exercises — drills Taiwan is pushing to be part of in the future.
Mr Joyce, a former deputy prime minister, said on Monday Australia's 'strategic ambiguity' on Taiwan must be 'backed up with incredible strength'. Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce says Australia is putting future generations at 'threat' by not acting faster to bolster the military. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
'There's not multiple rules-based orders in the world — there's one,' he told Seven's Sunrise, citing French President Emmanuel Macron.
'If a country wants to be outside that by just taking the South China Sea, by what we've seen with journalists in Hong Kong just (being) taken off the street, with tennis players who disappear if they say the wrong thing.
'We've had a massive build-up of (China's) armed capacity, including their nuclear capacity, and no real explanation as to why and (Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong) brought that to our attention lately.'
Mr Joyce went on to say the 'Australian people really haven't grasped exactly what's before us'.
'We need to become as strong as possible as quickly as possible,' he said.
'We really are putting the future of your children and grandchildren at threat.
'China does not believe in a democratic world order.
'They believe in an alternate order that does not include democracy and ultimately … where we lie in that, if we don't get this right, is as a vassal state.
'You will be dominated by economically, socially in your media, by a totalitarian regime.'
Adding that Australia is 'not as strong as we should be at the moment', Mr Joyce said the answer was working with allies to bolster collective defence.
Bringing Taiwan into the fold would mean Australia needs to 'look like you are strong enough to back yourself in'.
More to come
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
21 minutes ago
- West Australian
Trump says main priority in Gaza is getting people fed
US President Donald Trump says the number one priority in the Gaza Strip is getting people fed, because "you have a lot of starving people," adding that he was not going to take a position on Palestinian statehood at the moment. Trump, speaking alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland, said the United States had provided $US60 million ($A92 million) for humanitarian aid and other countries would have to step up. He said he discussed the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, and she told him European countries would step up their assistance very substantially. He said he also planned to discuss the humanitarian situation with Starmer during his visit on Monday. "We're giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up," Trump said. "It's a mess. They have to get food and safety right now." Starmer agreed, saying: "It's a humanitarian crisis, right? It's an absolute catastrophe .... I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they're seeing on their screen." Trump said he would not comment on a push by French President Emmanuel Macron to back Palestinian statehood. Trump also criticised the Hamas militant group for not agreeing to release more hostages, living and dead, and said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel's approach would likely have to change. "I told Bibi that you have to maybe do it a different way," Trump said, echoing similar comments made on Sunday. Asked if a ceasefire was still possible, Trump said, "Yeah, a ceasefire is possible but you have to get it, you have to end it." He did not elaborate on what he meant. Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying the Palestinian group had changed its position and was refusing to release more hostages. Hamas has said it is willing to release hostages under a ceasefire agreement with Israel. It submitted its response to a US-backed ceasefire proposal on Thursday at talks in Doha. Hours later, Israel withdrew its delegation from the talks. On Sunday, Trump said Israel would have to make a decision on next steps, adding, "I know what I'd do but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it". Israel carried out an air drop and announced a series of measures over the weekend to improve access for aid, including daily humanitarian pauses in three areas of the Gaza Strip and new safe corridors for convoys. United Nations agencies say those moves are not yet sufficient to alleviate famine-like conditions facing the enclave's residents. On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 89 children, most in just the last few weeks. Israel cut off all supplies to the Gaza Strip from the start of March, reopening the territory with new restrictions in May. Israel says it abides by international law but must prevent aid from being diverted by militants, and blames Hamas for the suffering of the Gaza Strip's people. "Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza. What a bald-faced lie. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza," Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Perth Now
21 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Trump says main priority in Gaza is getting people fed
US President Donald Trump says the number one priority in the Gaza Strip is getting people fed, because "you have a lot of starving people," adding that he was not going to take a position on Palestinian statehood at the moment. Trump, speaking alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland, said the United States had provided $US60 million ($A92 million) for humanitarian aid and other countries would have to step up. He said he discussed the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, and she told him European countries would step up their assistance very substantially. He said he also planned to discuss the humanitarian situation with Starmer during his visit on Monday. "We're giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up," Trump said. "It's a mess. They have to get food and safety right now." Starmer agreed, saying: "It's a humanitarian crisis, right? It's an absolute catastrophe .... I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they're seeing on their screen." Trump said he would not comment on a push by French President Emmanuel Macron to back Palestinian statehood. Trump also criticised the Hamas militant group for not agreeing to release more hostages, living and dead, and said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel's approach would likely have to change. "I told Bibi that you have to maybe do it a different way," Trump said, echoing similar comments made on Sunday. Asked if a ceasefire was still possible, Trump said, "Yeah, a ceasefire is possible but you have to get it, you have to end it." He did not elaborate on what he meant. Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying the Palestinian group had changed its position and was refusing to release more hostages. Hamas has said it is willing to release hostages under a ceasefire agreement with Israel. It submitted its response to a US-backed ceasefire proposal on Thursday at talks in Doha. Hours later, Israel withdrew its delegation from the talks. On Sunday, Trump said Israel would have to make a decision on next steps, adding, "I know what I'd do but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it". Israel carried out an air drop and announced a series of measures over the weekend to improve access for aid, including daily humanitarian pauses in three areas of the Gaza Strip and new safe corridors for convoys. United Nations agencies say those moves are not yet sufficient to alleviate famine-like conditions facing the enclave's residents. On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 89 children, most in just the last few weeks. Israel cut off all supplies to the Gaza Strip from the start of March, reopening the territory with new restrictions in May. Israel says it abides by international law but must prevent aid from being diverted by militants, and blames Hamas for the suffering of the Gaza Strip's people. "Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza. What a bald-faced lie. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza," Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘False campaign': Israel insists there is no starvation in Gaza
Meron said that Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and launched the shock October 7 attacks on Israel that led to an estimated 1200 deaths, was 'deceiving the media, deceiving international organisations, the international community, and it is deceiving its own people'. Referring to images of emaciated Palestinian children that have shocked people around the world, including Albanese, Meron said: 'The picture that you see, we think these are false pictures.' Meron said food shortages in Gaza should be blamed on a lack of willingness by international aid organisations to deliver the aid and the theft of food and other supplies by Hamas militants. He said the new measures announced by Israel, including pauses in the fighting, were 'of course to tackle this false campaign that Hamas is running against Israel, the starvation campaign'. 'When the UN agencies are saying that there is no aid, we're showing those pictures [and saying] look, there is aid, and it's ready, and it's you can take it now and bring it to the Gaza Strip into the population. Why aren't you taking it?' he said. The deputy ambassador's comments echoed those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Monday, who told the UN and other aid organisations: 'Stop finding excuses, do what you have to do and stop accusing Israel deliberately of this egregious falsehood. There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza.' Netanyahu has been charged by the International Criminal Court with using starvation as a weapon of war, a claim his office dismissed as false and antisemitic. After French President Emmanuel Macron urged world leaders to recognise Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly last week, Labor MP Basem Abdo used his first speech to parliament on Monday to subtly support Australian recognition of Palestine. Abdo, who was born in Kuwait to Palestinian refugees, described Palestinians as a 'suffering people, a steadfast people', adding that 'international law matters, the international rules-based order matters'. 'The right to peace, justice and recognition matters – deserving of a historic commitment,' he said. More than 100 international aid organisations issued a joint statement last week saying 'mass starvation' was spreading across Gaza, and that 'our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away'. According to the WHO, there have been 74 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza this year, with 63 occurring in July – including 24 children under five. 'Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting,' the WHO said in an update on Sunday. The Australian government last week joined 27 nations to condemn 'the drip-feeding of aid' by Israel, while Albanese said on Sunday that 'quite clearly, it is a breach of international law to stop food being delivered, which was a decision that Israel made in March'. Pressed on whether Albanese was wrong to say that Israel broke international law by halting all aid deliveries from March until May, Meron said: 'What we're saying is that Israel doesn't breach ... international humanitarian law in Gaza. 'There is enough aid in Gaza, and we are acting in different ways in order to bring more aid in Gaza. 'And the responsibility should be [placed] on Hamas, not on Israel.' Albanese told parliament on Monday that Gaza is in 'the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe' and that 'Israel's denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children seeking access to water and food, cannot be defended nor can it be ignored'. 'We have called upon Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law,' he said, adding that he also condemned Hamas. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley told Sky News: 'I find the images incredibly distressing and the stories of aid not reaching the people where it's needed incredibly distressing.' Loading Asked about Meron's comments regarding 'false pictures', she said: 'It's clearly a very complicated situation on the ground.' The war could end immediately if Hamas agreed to surrender and release all the remaining hostages, Ley added. Liberal Senator Dave Sharma said there was 'pretty overwhelming' evidence of malnutrition and food shortages in Gaza but told the ABC: 'I don't believe Israel has stopped food from being delivered, or at least my understanding is that has not been the policy intent.' According to the UN human rights office, more than 1000 Palestinians have been killed while trying to get food aid over the past two months, including more than 700 near one of the distribution centres run by the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
