Australia ‘enjoys’ an uncertain relationship with China.

Two stories caught my eye in the last week which illustrate this point.

1. Kevin Rudd announced a 3 per cent increase in defence spending and directly references the military build up in China as the justification for the spend, which will be detailed in the upcoming Federal budget. Current annual defence funding is in excess of $20bn.

2. The Reserve Bank takes the decision not to cut interest rates and cites recovery in China and the firming up of commodity prices as a key driver for an upswing in the Australian economy.

So in a nutshell Australia is arming itself to defend itself against the threat posed by a major trading partner.

I fail to see why China would invade / attack Australia especially if China consumes more and more of Australia’s raw materials and commodities in the coming years, as the Reserve Bank predicts.

With all due respect, what would be the point?

In an official response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhong Xu said that “China is a peaceful force that forms no threat to any other countries.”

I appreciate that Australia needs to be aware of what is going on in the region but surely there are more progressive approaches available to the Australian Government, especially from a leader who has capitolised on a strong and long personal relationship with China.

Tags: Asia, australia, Budget, Defence, Dollars, federal, Military, rudd