Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Mon 28 Jul 07:21
Well, as newspaper headlines go, the Daily Telegraph`s today takes some beating...
`Britain ready to fight over Taiwan,` it says, while a subheading quotes the UK defence secretary as saying, "If we have to fight, Australia and the UK are nations that will fight together".
Not surprisingly, the story has garnered some attention over here in Oz, and none of it has been good from a UK perspective. The resounding message is that the UK defence secretary can GTF.
Australians have no intention of fighting China, our largest trading partner, over Taiwan. The dominant view here, as in most of Asia, is that Taiwan and China will likely settle their dispute quietly, without a shot being fired.
The UK defence secretary was commenting on a visit to the Northern Territory to oversee military exercises involving both our countries. I suspect the minister got a bit carried away after sampling rather too many Darwin Stubbies.
I wish Britain would become a bit more realistic about its place in the world these days. It is no longer the great empire upon which the sun never sets.
Indeed, were it to be stupid enough to attack China, I would imagine the Chinese would view this as an excellent opportunity to avenge the Opium Wars and Hong Kong. Perhaps, after having wiped out our forces in swift measure, they would demand a 99-year lease on London as reparation.
:)
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