Australia’s opposition defense spokesperson, Brendan O’Connor, confirmed workers’ commitment to the country’s US alliance and set some of workers’ key national security priorities if elected to the government in May. I outlined it.
“The bond between the United States and Australia cannot be exaggerated. It is a connection formed through our common beliefs, aspirations and democratic values,” O’Connor said on March 16 at the American Research Center in Sydney. Said in a speech to.
“But this friendship between our two countries goes a step further than the similarity of our cultural identities. Relations with the United States are the basis of Australia’s security, sovereignty and prosperity.
“Our alliance is also important for supporting peace, stability and freedom in and beyond the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
Comments were made when workers responded to Morrison’s criticism that the Labor Party was vulnerable to China, with poor records of defense spending reaching 1.56 percent of GDP when the Labor Party last came to power.
O’Connor reminded the audience that he was under the Wartime Labor government 80 years ago and formed an ANZUS alliance with the United States.
He said this was expanded by the coalition in recent years, confirming workers’ support for the AUKUS security agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom and the “revitalized” Shikoku security dialogue with the United States, Japan and India. did.
“For workers, national security is more important than politics,” he added, adding that such a security alliance is “important in an increasingly difficult world.”
“That’s why we advocated the importance of strengthening regional organizations such as ASEAN. That’s why we also support Quad, which is really a revitalization under Quad’s leadership. [U.S.]President Biden, “he said.
Meanwhile, O’Connor accused the government of mismanagement of its defense portfolio and failed to raise military assets, emphasizing the 20-year wait of nuclear submarines under AUKUS.
“The current government is making announcements, but not having been in office for nearly a decade means that we can’t really provide the functionality we need when we need it,” he said.
Labor remaining ambiguous in Taiwan
He mentioned the agenda that Beijing raised in the Indo-Pacific for Australia’s defense forces, but the Communist-controlled nation was not directly mentioned in his speech.
However, O’Connor said the Labor Party would follow Taiwan’s policy of “policy of deliberate ambiguity,” as foreign spokesman Penny Wong pointed out.
“The Labor Party will continue its policy of strategic ambiguity, as my shadow foreign minister’s colleague Penny Wong emphasized on Taiwan and is in line with that of the United States,” he said.
“This is because declaring the response of the intended military action to a virtual situation only helps to incline strategic calculations in favor of those seeking to incite conflict.
“We are facing growing tensions in times of global volatility, especially within our region, and although we share concerns about these issues,” he said. ..
Relations between workers and Beijing continue to cloud the party.
In late February, the Independent Commission, the chief anti-corruption body in New South Wales (NSW), involved former state legislator Ernest Wong in a “serious corruption” attempting to hide a $ 100,000 source of funding. I officially admitted that I am doing it. $ 71,830 Donation in 2015 — This is from billionaire Huang Xiangmo linked to the controversial United Front.
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Caden Pearson is a writer and editor based in Cairns, Australia. He mainly writes about national affairs, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, and COVID-19 measures and pushbacks. He has a background in screenwriting and documentary. Contact him at [email protected]