‘War could be imminent!’ China sparks conflict fears as it ramps up hostility towards US
The world is 'becoming dangerous' amid China threat says Bolt
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Sky News Australia host Andrew Bolt said the world was a “very dangerous” place as he described the array of illicit Chinese activity in both the Indo Pacific and the South China Sea. He spoke of an incident with the US and China as the latter nation “chased out” a US warship, before an aircraft carrier was placed by the Americans in the South China Sea to show they would “not be intimidated”. It comes as Pacific island leaders agreed to take a united approach as the United States and China vie for influence in the region.
Mr Bolt said: “The world is getting so very dangerous, don’t you think? There is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“There is also now Russia and China working together, now sending warships to Japanese islands claimed by China.
“China this week also claimed it had chased out a US warship, chased it away from islands it had stolen in the South China sea.
“Well, America immediately sent in an aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to show that it would not be intimidated. And, of course, we now get reports that China also harassed an Australian warship as well.
“To add to this is China’s threat to invade Taiwan. That war could be imminent.
“All this, plus China’s massive military buildup, was on the mind of defence minister Richard Marles when he met the US defence secretary overnight and told him what was keeping him up at night.”
Mr Marles said: “What we see is that international rules paced order being put under stress in the Indo-Pacific as China seeks to shape the world around it in a way we have not seen before.
“It is engaging in the single biggest military buildup that we have seen in the world since the end of the second world war, and that is a very significant phenomenon.”
A communique to be released on the final day of the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Suva will show the leaders agree to consult each other before entering into security arrangements, forum secretary general Henry Puna said.
The agreement is believed to be a reaction both to China’s defence pact agreement with the Solomon Islands and their subsequent attempt to get 10 out of 18 forum members to endorse a pre-prepared security and trade deal earlier this year in May.
Mr Puna said: “The region did not accept that approach,” before adding that Pacific islands “can’t afford to be enemies with anyone”.
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Mr Puna said: “There are opportunities to be had… however certain issues like security, it does have regional impacts, and that is the issue that leaders have asked each other to share and dialogue with each other so everybody knows what is happening.”
The biggest member of the forum, Australia, provides aid and policing throughout the region but was excluded from China’s recent proposal, as were several nations that have ties with Taiwan.
This week the United States also said it would triple funding to the Pacific islands under a fisheries deal, amid concern over China’s security ambitions for the region and a decade of rising Chinese investment.
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