War with China is not inevitable, but it is more likely than most Australians think. Don't take any notice of the media or politicians. Read and listen to people who actually know what is going on. Of course, most people will sneer at that advice, so I'm not bothering to give more than hint I already have.

One thing that the new government has to be congratulated for is its review of the ADF to ascertain what it needs to do to defend Australia NOW, not two or more decades down the track as it was with the Morrison government. We have the usual purely political comments on the person who will manage the enquiry - worst defence minister ever, yadayada. But we need more assurance than idle talk about a few submarines, a single one of which MIGHT be ready by sometime after 2040, if it is ever decided what brand it will be and where it will be built, by whom.

Humans have always had wars and with shrinking resources, land, water etc., we will no doubt have many more, it's in our DNA!

As for war with a militant expansionist China? Our best stratergy is to capitulate first then take to our most rugged country with caves that'll support a guerilla army With bows, arrows and spears. NB Stephen Smith, any honest clear eyed review of our defense readiness, would agree with that summary!

Why? because without a robust manufacturing sector that's all we will be able to produce. And because children, a robust manufacturing sector is totally reliant on truly affordable energy! Something (I'm alright jack) Ozzie Pollies don't get, but particularly the greens and those who suck up to them in their policy decisions! And I know you know who that is!

No battery or pumped supported renewable will support a competitive local based manufacturing sector! You want homemade anything then you will need nuclear power as MSR thorium and with that, power prices as low as 1 cent PKWH! And with energy that cheap alternative fuels made from inexhaustable seawater! The above an absolute essential for a robust porcupine defense posture!
Alan B.

Aidan my post was nothing to do with strategy, just a simple statement of fact. I doubt many Ozzie wants us to go to war with anyone, let alone an adversary so much stronger than us that the result is obvious.

However China is using the prospect of war to deflect their population from concentrating on their many & increasing problems. I am quite sure that if they come to believe war with us would not bring the US in on our behalf, they will take us, rather like taking candy from a baby.

They need our coal & iron ore, & to a lesser extent our grain. Currently they give us trinkets for those, but it might be easier to just come & take them. Our best hope is for them to realise they need the work involved in making those trinkets to keep their population involved & happy. If that changes, watch out.

The US-China tech war is escalating.
Of course there were other reasons for Crazy Nancy’s visit, but she had a meeting with Mark Lui, chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC). Pelosi’s trip coincided with U.S. efforts to convince TSMC – the world’s largest chip manufacturer, on which the U.S. is heavily dependent – to establish a manufacturing base in the US and to stop making advanced chips for Chinese companies.
Taiwan’s autonomy has become a vital geopolitical interest for the U.S, because of the island’s dominance of the semiconductor manufacturing market.

Aidan,
Hasbeen's strike would be an Australian one, we're talking about a Chinese preemptive strike that has already occurred.
As the Muslims have proven all over the world, a preemptive strike doesn't necessarily have to be a military one. An economic one is just as effective especially when the people are too stupid to realise what's happening to them !
All you need is to send swarms of unarmed fighting-age men, give them an iphone & call them refugees !