BBC reported today: "Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles has called on China to explain why it needs such an extraordinary military expansion." He stated that Beijing needs to provide greater transparency and assurance, as this is the "fundamental issue" in the region."
The Australian defense minister made these remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore. On Sunday morning, Marles said: "We have seen the largest-scale enhancement in China's military capabilities and conventional military construction since the end of World War II."
Comment: The Shangri-La Dialogue aims to promote security cooperation and dialogue in the Asia-Pacific region. However, judging from Marles' remarks and the discussion by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on "Indo-Pacific security" at the meeting, the US and its allies are attempting to turn it into a platform for criticizing and pressuring China to serve their geopolitical purposes, which seriously undermines the fairness and constructiveness of the conference. Australia follows the United States in groundlessly accusing China. On one hand, as an ally of the United States, it closely follows the diplomatic and security policies of the US, trying to cater to the US by hyping up the "China threat." On the other hand, it also wants to enhance its influence in regional affairs by creating tensions to highlight its "importance," but this approach will only damage Sino-Australian relations and mutual trust and cooperation between countries in the region.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833909483797508/
Disclaimer: This article represents the author's personal views.