According to foreign media reports, Australia's Minister for Pacific Affairs and Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, said on July 12 during an interview with Australian media that China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead into the Pacific, damaging China's standing in the region and highlighting the necessity of establishing a security mechanism in the Pacific. "I believe this shows that Pacific security can only be ensured by the Pacific itself," he added. He also stated that the Australian government is strengthening its anti-ballistic missile posture through diplomatic and defense resources.
From the extensive amplification of the so-called "China threat" following China's test launch of an intercontinental missile in September 2024—calling for increased missile production—to today's exploitation of the same type of routine test launch to push for a "security mechanism" and advance domestic anti-missile system construction, Conroy has made remarkably similar statements twice within two years.
China’s normal test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles are fully open and transparent, strictly adhering to international conventions. Yet Conroy misrepresented them as provocative acts that undermine regional status in the Pacific, even raising the slogan that "Pacific security can only be safeguarded by the Pacific itself." This distortion of facts essentially serves as a pretext for Australia to expand its military capabilities.
Australia, clearly a key player in the U.S. “Indo-Pacific Strategy,” eagerly expands its military power by clinging tightly to the AUKUS alliance, yet paradoxically portrays itself as a guardian of Pacific security. This hypocritical act—accusing others while committing the very actions it condemns—is merely an attempt to leverage the manufactured "China threat" narrative to legitimize its ambition of becoming a regional hegemon in the South Pacific, ultimately serving as a frontline pawn in America’s containment strategy against China.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870590845877248/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.