Latest news with #militaryBuildUp
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Australia demands China explain ‘biggest military build-up since Second World War'
Australia's defence minister called on China to explain its massive military build-up, claiming it was sparking concern in the region due to a lack of transparency. Richard Marles urged Beijing to offer strategic assurance about its defence policies. 'What we have seen from China is the single biggest increase in military capability and build-up in conventional sense by any country since the end of the Second World War, ' Mr Marles said on Sunday. 'It is the fact that it is happening without strategic reassurance. It's happening without a clear strategic intent on the part of China. What we want to see is strategic transparency and strategic reassurance be provided by China and an understanding of why it is needed to have such an extraordinary military build-up.' He pointed to Australia as a model of transparency, claiming that Canberra publicly shared its defence strategy and reviews to make it 'utterly clear' that its military build-up was meant to ensure security for the country and the region more broadly. 'So, there is total strategic clarity and assurance that is being provided by Australia to our neighbours, to the region, to the world. That's what we would like to see,' he said. Mr Marles said China 's recent military exercise near Australia and New Zealand was 'disruptive' and 'could have been done in a better way' but added that ultimately ' China was acting in accordance with international law'. In February, China's military exercise in the Tasman Sea, involving three naval ships and possibly live fire, prompted flight diversions between Australia and New Zealand. Australia called the manoeuvres 'unusual', while China maintained they were lawful and in international waters. At the time, China's foreign ministry confirmed that it was carrying out naval training and exercises in 'distant waters'. A spokesman, Guo Jiakun, said the drills were conducted safely, 'in professional manner' and in line with international laws and norms. Mr Marles emphasised the importance of upholding a rules-based order. 'The guiding light, the bedrock here, needs to be compliance with international law. That's what we keep talking about, is the rules-based order,' he said. On calls for Indo-Pacific allies of America to boost defence spending amid China's rise, Mr Marles said Australia was 'taking steps' and 'up for it' though it hadn't yet committed to president Donald Trump's push for increasing military spending to 3 per cent of the national GDP. China earlier rejected US defence secretary Pete Hegseth 's warning of a 'real' and 'potentially imminent' threat from Beijing, calling his claim groundless. Beijing also accused the US of being the 'biggest troublemaker' for regional peace. The Chinese embassy in Singapore said on Facebook that the speech was 'steeped in provocations and instigation' and that Mr Hegseth had 'repeatedly smeared and attacked China and relentlessly played up the so-called 'China threat''. 'As a matter of fact, the US itself is the biggest 'troublemaker' for regional peace and stability,' the embassy said. 'What the US now offers the most to the world is 'uncertainty'. The country claims to safeguard peace and not to seek conflicts. We've heard it. Let's see what moves will it take.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Australia asks China to explain 'extraordinary' military build-up
Australia's defence minister Richard Marles has called on China to explain why it needs to have "such an extraordinary military build-up". He said Beijing needs to provide greater transparency and reassurance as it is the "fundamental issue" for the region. Meanwhile, the Philippines defence minister Gilberto Teodoro Jr has called China "absolutely irresponsible and reckless" in its actions in the South China Sea. The ministers had separately addressed reporters on the sidelines of an Asian defence summit held in Singapore. China has yet to respond to either Marles or Teodoro. Organised by the think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Shangri-la Dialogue has traditionally been anchored by the US and China, which have been jostling for power in the region. This year China has sent a lower-level delegation and scrapped its speech. In the absence of a strong Chinese presence, the dialogue has been dominated by criticism and questions of Beijing posed by the US and its allies. On Sunday morning, Marles asserted that "what we have seen from China is the single biggest increase in military capability and build up in conventional sense, by any country since the end of the Second World War". It is not just the size of the military build-up that concerns other countries, he told reporters. "It's the fact that it is happening without strategic reassurance. It's happening without a clear strategic intent on the part of China… what we want to see is strategic transparency and strategic reassurance be provided by China, and an understanding of why it is needed to have such an extraordinary military build-up." He cited Australia as an example of such transparency, noting that Canberra makes public its national defence strategy and defence reviews, and makes it "utterly clear" that when they build up their defences it is for Australia and Asia's security. "So there is total strategic clarity and assurance that is being provided by Australia to our neighbours, to the region, to the world. That's what we would like to see," he said. China is capable of working with international rules, noted Marles, pointing to a highly-scrutinised Chinese military exercise conducted near Australia and New Zealand's waters in February. While it was "disruptive, and we believe that it could have been done in a better way", he said, "ultimately China was acting in accordance with international law". "The guiding light, the bedrock here, needs to be compliance with international law. That's what we keep talking about, is the rules-based order." Marles was also asked about Hegseth's call for Indo-Pacific partners to increase defence spending as a bulwark against the threat of China. Marles said "we actually are taking steps down this path… we understand it, we're up for it." US President Donald Trump has called on Australia to increase its spending to 3%, but Canberra has yet to publicly commit to that number. Marles added that part of that spending would come under Aukus, the defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US. He said projects under the pact were "on track" and he was "very optimistic" about the progress, including more visits of American nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and submarine rotations through a Perth-based navy base. In a separate interview with the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner, the Philippines defence minister Teodoro said China has been "absolutely irresponsible and reckless in appropriating most, if not all, of the South China Sea and in a way the world cannot tolerate". The two countries have repeatedly clashed over competing claims in the South China Sea, and the Philippines has complained of aggressive and violent tactics by the Chinese coast guard. He echoed the call for a preservation of the international order, saying that "the takeaway of a lot of defence ministers is that Europe and the US must continue to lead" on this. "That was the call of the Philippines. That is the call of Lithuania, Latvia, the smaller countries who have a way of life that values freedom and dignity of the human being." "And with a way of life that we don't want the deep state looking over our shoulders or being scared of what we say," he said, referring to China. On Saturday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had warned of China's "imminent" threat towards Taiwan and accused Beijing of becoming a "hegemonic power" in the region. China has vigorously attacked Hegseth in two separate statements, with the latest posted on its Foreign Ministry website early on Sunday. It said that Hegseth had "vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a 'threat'. "No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself, who is also the primary factor undermining the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific." Earlier in the defence summit, French President Emmanuel Macron had made a pitch for Europe to be a new ally to Asia. China also responded to Macron, who had compared the defence of Taiwan to the defence of Ukraine, and said the comparison was "unacceptable" as the "Taiwan question is entirely China's affair". China claims Taiwan, a self-governing island, as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to eventually "reunify" with it. Hegseth warns China poses 'imminent' threat to Taiwan and urges Asia to boost defence Macron warns the West could lose credibility over Ukraine and Gaza wars
