‘Win for China': Aus' warning on historic day
On August 15, 1945, the Japanese unconditionally surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands and unveiling the terrifying might of nuclear weapons.
The devastating attack came after nearly four years of heavy fighting that saw Japanese planes bomb Darwin – the worst attack on Australian soil.
Most of the nearly 40,000 Australians who died fighting the Axis powers lost their lives defending the country against Japan's efforts to take the Pacific.
In a statement to NewsWire, Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said August 15 was 'an important opportunity to acknowledge our greatest generation – both the veterans still with us and those long lost'.
'The sacrifices they made shall never be forgotten,' he said.
Eighty years on, the spectre of conflict looms large in the region, with Xi Jinping's desires on Taiwan driving fears of an 'imminent' threat, as the Trump administration describes it.
China is the big fish, but Russia too has a formidable presence in the region, as it showed just last week with 'routine' war games with the Chinese.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's envoy in Canberra, told NewsWire that Australia should keep a close eye on the deepening defence ties between Beijing and Moscow.
'Indonesia and Russia hosted joint naval exercises in November of last year – why?' he said.
'Why would Russian corvettes would need to be that close to Australia?
'Is there any specific reason why the Russians could be requesting from the Indonesians an air base to locate their strategic bombers? To do what?'
'Pandora's box'
Mr Myroshnychenko is no stranger to Vladimir Putin's war schemes.
The Russian President ordered the invasion of his country just weeks after his appointment as ambassador to Australia.
Mr Putin is set to meet Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday (local time) to discuss a peace deal for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has not been invited.
Mr Myroshnychenko was hesitant to pre-empt the talks but said if Ukraine is told to cede territory to Russia, it could be a 'blueprint' for Australia as it manages an increasingly militaristic rivalry with China.
'This is dismantlement of the rules based international system,' he said.
'A permanent member of the UN Security Council, which has nuclear weapons, can change borders by force.
'That's a kind of blueprint which will be in place if the Russians are rewarded for their war of aggression.'
He said it would 'open up a Pandora's box in the South China Sea'.
'It will embolden and inspire other authoritarian leaders, of which they all are authoritarian here in the region,' Mr Myroshnychenko said, noting a handful of exceptions, such as New Zealand and Japan.
With few democracies around Australia and international norms crumbling, he said 'you need to be strong'.
'You need to have strong military,' Mr Myroshnychenko said.
'You need to have the available capabilities that could deter a potential enemy from taking over Australia, or hurting your interests, or even just projecting power and coercing you.
'That would be a huge win for China and a huge win for other authoritarian leaders.'
He said the fact that Russia is a Pacific country means Australia has skin in the game in Ukraine.
'They have a huge Pacific fleet with strategic bombers, nuclear submarines, and they are interested in projecting global power,' Mr Myroshnychenko said.
He is not the first to stress the links between events in Europe and the simmering Indo Pacific.
China is pumping hundreds of billions into Russia's economy, fuelling the Kremlin's war machine.
Meanwhile, growing numbers of North Korean troops are joining Moscow's forces on the front lines in Ukraine.
The regional uncertainty is not lost on Canberra.
Both Labor and the opposition often caution Australia is facing 'the most strategically challenging circumstances' since the Second World War.
With self-evident parallels of warring parties in Europe and tinderbox conditions in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Keogh said Victory in the Pacific Day was a reminder of the 'relationships forged' out of the worst war ever waged.
'This day of commemoration is an important reminder of our place in the world, the importance of the relationships forged in the Second World War – alliances that continue to be important to this day, and the need to ensure stability in our region into the future,' he said.
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