Independent senator Jacqui Lambie warns Australia is facing ‘very big decisions’ on Taiwan
Army veteran and independent senator Jacqui Lambie has delivered a stark warning about the likelihood of conflict on Australia’s doorstep in the ‘next 12 months’.
Australia will “have to make some very big decisions in the next 12 months” about Taiwan, crossbencher Jacqui Lambie has warned after Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed “complete reunification”.
“We’ve already heard from Xi Jinping that he intends to take Taiwan next year – what does that look like?” Senator Lambie told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
“Do we go in and help Taiwan if that happens? Or do we not? Or we sit back and we just have to say we can’t get involved?
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“So there is a lot of things in play here right now.”
The comments came after Mr Xi this week declared the Taiwan question an “unwavering historical mission” facing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“The tide of history cannot be stopped,” he said.
“The complete reunification of the motherland must be realised, and it will certainly be realised.”
Earlier in the month, China staged unannounced drills in which it encircled Taiwan using warships as dozens of military aircraft buzzed around the democratically self-governing island.
While Beijing has ramped up war games around Taiwan in recent years, the latest were unusually secretive and covered a much larger area of the Western Pacific.
A conflict in the Taiwan Strait would deal a massive blow to crucial trade routes that Australia relies on to ship iron ore, coal and gas.
It would also paralyse Taiwan’s world-leading semiconductor production while inflicting enormous pain on the Chinese economy, which would in turn place further pressure on the global economy.
Foreign minister of the world’s top seven economies condemned the drills, saying they “threaten regional stability, freedom of navigation and the safety of international shipping”.
“We reaffirmed our opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, particularly by force or coercion, or the threat thereof,” the foreign ministers said.
Opponents of the CCP fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a brutal civil war on the Chinese mainland, resulting in the island developing as a Western-aligned democracy in contrast to their communist counterparts.
Australia signs defence pact with Philippines
The fresh fears around Taiwan come as Anthony Albanese is set to ink a new defence pact with the Philippines.
The archipelagic country has also grappled with increasing Chinese military aggression driven by territorial disputes.
Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson welcomed the move, saying “any closer military relations with the Philippines is in Australia’s national interest”.
“We’re both living in a contested region of the world, and Australia working more closely with the Philippines to help deter conflict in our region is a good thing,” he told News24’s Sunday Agenda.
“We’re seeing some shocking incidents in recent years where the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia have been harassing Philippine fishing vessels and also Philippine naval vessels.
“I think it’s really important that Australia stands shoulder to shoulder with the Philippines to resist that aggression, which is contrary to international law and which is dangerous and destabilising for the region.”
The defence relationship with Manila has rapidly expanded as China forcefully asserts its claims over areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China’s claims are not internationally recognised, but that has not stopped it from building artificial islands and routinely clashing with Philippines navy vessels.
Originally published as ‘Next 12 months’: Australia facing ‘very big decisions’ on Taiwan, Jacqui Lambie warns
