Opinion
It’s a fine state of affairs when even the doddering, demented Biden administration is far tougher on the Chinese communist regime than the Anthony Albanese government in Australia. It almost makes one yearn for halcyon days of the Scott Morrison government. Say what you will about Scotty from Marketing: when it came to China, at least the government had a backbone.
In fact, Australia was at the forefront of trying to hold Beijing accountable for unleashing (if not creating in the first place) the Covid pandemic. In the face of the inevitably brutal backlash from the communist regime, Australia stood firm, earning kudos from world leaders. Morrison and his government were also at the forefront of forging new regional alliances against China, strengthening the Five Eyes intelligence arrangement, and cementing the AUKUS alliance.
How things have changed.
When even Joe Biden has the balls to openly call Xi Xinping a “dictator”, spineless little Albo kowtows and kisses Xi’s silk slippers.
When China’s navy, repeatedly throws its weight around in the South China Sea and deliberately injures Royal Australian Navy divers with active sonar, Albo won’t even mention it for weeks and refuses to say whether he even discussed the matter with his Dear Leader.
On the other hand:
The U.S. slammed China for “reckless disregard” and provocative action after Chinese coast guard boats shot water cannons at Philippine ships and collided with a vessel in the South China Sea over the weekend.
Even under Biden, America stands up for its allies better than Albanese stands up for his own country.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Chinese boats also deployed acoustic devices, or sound cannons, which can employ extremely loud sounds over a distance to incapacitate a target, to drive away Philippine boats.
China “interfered in lawful Philippine maritime operations and in Philippine vessels’ exercise of high seas freedom of navigation,” Miller said Sunday in a statement. “Obstructing supply lines to this longstanding outpost and interfering with lawful Philippines maritime operations undermines regional stability.”
“These actions reflect not only reckless disregard for the safety and livelihoods of Filipinos, but also for international law,” he added.
Chinese and Philippine boats engaged one other Saturday near the disputed area of Scarborough Shoal, where China shot high-pressure water cannons at three Philippine fisheries vessels, damaging communication and other equipment. Beijing was also accused of using a sound cannon in the incident.
On Sunday, China shot more water cannons at Philippine supply boats near the disputed area of Second Thomas Shoal and severely damaged two of them.
Resupply boats that approached to help were also shot at with water cannons, and one of them was rammed and grounded near an outpost. Filipino naval ships have been running supplies to the grounded vessel.
As is their standard practice, the Chinese communists simply lie through their teeth and blame everyone else.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning blamed the Philippines for intruding on Beijing’s sovereign territory and accused Manila of reinforcing the grounded vessel in an attempt to occupy the area.
This, from the country that makes fake islands by sand-dredging, then claims them and the sea for miles around as “Chinese territory”.
“We once again urge the Philippines to stop infringing on China’s sovereignty and making provocative moves, stop groundlessly attacking and smearing China, and avoid undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Mao Ning said in a Monday press conference.
Even the Philippines president is showing up Albanese for the craven jellyfish that he is.
Philippines President Bongbong Marcos said the “illegal presence in our waters and dangerous actions against our citizens is an outright and blatant violation of international law and the rules-based international order.”
“The aggression and provocations perpetrated by the China Coast Guard and their Chinese Maritime Militia against our vessels and personnel over the weekend have only further steeled our determination to defend and protect our nation’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea,” Marcos wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Hill
Meanwhile, Albo is tweeting fatuous selfies of himself in “cool” t-shirts and boring anyone who’ll listen with how he grew up in a council flat.
What did we do to deserve this clown show?