【By Xianghuzhe Net, Xiong Chaoran】 Australian Prime Minister Albanese has just finished his visit to China, and the Sino-Australian relations have once again shown signs of warming. However, at this moment, someone is once again trying to stir up trouble...

According to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on July 21 local time, Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of Defence of the Netherlands, who is participating in the multinational joint military exercise "Talisman Sabre" in Australia, recently warned Australian leaders that the country needs to enhance its own defense capabilities to cope with China's so-called "military rise".

He hyped up the claim that the threat China poses to the "Indo-Pacific region" is no different from Russia's threat to Europe, and Australia and other countries should not avoid the risk of future conflicts out of "naivety".

Previously, Wu Qian, Director of the Department of Defense News and Spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Defense, stated that China firmly opposes any external countries coming all the way to the Asia-Pacific to show off their military might and meddle in the affairs. Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, also pointed out that forming group politics and bloc confrontation is a Cold War mindset, which is against the trend of the times, and is not welcomed by regional countries. It neither solves the problem nor scares China, and China's determination and will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests are unwavering.

Chief of Defence of the Netherlands, Onno Eichelsheim ABC

ABC reported that the Netherlands is one of the 19 countries participating in the "Talisman Sabre" joint military exercise, which is organized jointly by Australia and the United States. In addition to the Netherlands, the armies of other European countries such as France, Germany, and Norway are also participating.

When asked why the Netherlands is paying attention to the region and how it views the security situation in the Indo-Pacific, Eichelsheim immediately started to spread anxiety, claiming that he is deeply concerned about China's growing military strength.

"It's not a good idea to let only the United States counter China. Therefore, we have significantly strengthened our partnerships with Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines," he further claimed.

ABC noted that like most NATO countries, the Netherlands recently agreed to increase its defense spending to 3.5% of GDP. This decision is partly due to the pressure from the United States on NATO countries to invest more in their own defense.

Eichelsheim believes that given the security situation in Europe, a defense spending of 3.5% of GDP is sufficient to meet the Netherlands' required defense capability. At the same time, he did not forget to urge Australia to "do more" and further provoke Sino-Australian relations.

"But inevitably, I think Australia must also enhance its defense capabilities. If you pay attention to the region and China's military rise," he claimed: "In addition, if they need help from Europe, (Australia) is actually doing so. Look at the Ukraine-Russia conflict, look at Australia's support for us there."

ABC mentioned that Australia is also facing pressure from the United States to increase its defense spending to the same level as most NATO countries, which is 3.5% of GDP. However, the Albanian government does not agree with the U.S. call for a significant increase in defense spending, stating that the country's defense spending is already growing rapidly.

Albanese believes that Australia will formulate its own defense policy and advocates funding specific capabilities rather than setting and pursuing financial targets.

When asked whether he would be under pressure from allied countries that are quickly increasing their GDP defense spending, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said that these countries can see what Australia is doing.

"We understand that there is indeed a process of comparison internationally, but ultimately, each country assesses based on its own strategic needs when determining the military force it requires," he said: "This is what we are doing, and I believe other countries can see us advancing this process - it is an ongoing process, and so far, it has brought the largest peacetime defense budget increase in Australian history."

At the same time that the Chief of Defence of the Netherlands was loudly promoting the "China threat theory", Australian Prime Minister Albanese had just finished his official visit to China. This was his second visit to China as Prime Minister. Strengthening Sino-Australian economic and trade cooperation was the core agenda of Albanese's visit. He explicitly stated before departing: "The relationship with China means creating jobs for Australia, that's it."

Reuters mentioned that some informed sources in the Australian agricultural industry revealed that China may reach an agreement with Australia to allow Australian suppliers to conduct pilot shipments of rapeseed cargo to China, and Sino-Australian rapeseed trade is expected to resume.

Regarding Sino-Australian economic and trade relations, Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, stated on July 16 at a regular press conference that China has always believed that economic and trade cooperation is the ballast of Sino-Australian relations. China is willing to work with Australia to provide a fair, open, and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises of both countries to invest and operate in each other's countries, and promote the continuous development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7529708905727902249/

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