North Australian FISH FINDER forums

mentioning all this because the Top End is involved, including Tindal RAAF Base, and it could ultimately affect fishing

and of course there is Darwin port, currently an important strategic Chinese asset

the PM has announced that Australia will spend $270b on missiles and more, the gloves are off ... https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/le ... d1fdca442a

former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer has noted how China is bullying multiple countries ... "China is pursuing a very unwise, very aggressive as they call it ‘wolf-warrior’ diplomacy and in the process it’s isolating itself,” the quote is from here ... https://www.news.com.au/technology/inno ... 9bc5d3e977

meanwhile, in its latest move to win friends, after taking over Hong Kong the Chinese CCP has created harsh anti-protest laws for Hong Kong - laws which even target non-HK people who don't live in HK ... https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/chin ... eafc84b86a ... so, careful what you do, folks

and China wants to take over Taiwan, even by force, we know this because they keep saying so, and they have already taken over islands in the South China Sea

more recently there have been fatal scuffles on the Indian border, with soldiers using Lucille-style clubs

then there is the CCP's "Silk and Road" soft expansion, "re-education camps", the Falun Gong disappearances, organ harvesting ...

in Australia, there is the acquisition of technology and secrets for military/commercial use ... https://www.smh.com.au/world/australian ... z780x.html

with Australian university managers even targeting our own students instead of protecting them from aggression ... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-04/ ... g/12320016

our universities are now almost wholly reliant on Chinese student income, says this report ... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-21/ ... t/11427272

China's CCP also withheld info on the virus until they couldn't any more, and then punished Australia with sanctions for demanding an inquiry into how the virus kicked off

not to mention the CCP has actively try to undermine free speech in Australia ... https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 52eqb.html

now keep in mind this is about the CCP, not the Chinese people, many of whom have suffered under their own government

hardly surprising that the Australian prime minister is announcing precautionary measures ... is it enough though. without nukes is Australia a sitting duck?

does Australia need to move quickly to the Swiss military model? from Wikipedia ... "The regulations of the Swiss militia system stipulate that the soldiers keep their own personal equipment, including all personally assigned weapons, at home (until 2007 this also included ammunition[5]), or in an armory. Compulsory military service applies to all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily."

coming soon, the new Aussie military model, and probably the only way to defend Australia - an AK47, ammo and a bag of grenades at the ready in every household, and two weeks of training.

no fitness requirements, or there'll be no army

don't forget our Collins class subs ... and those dodgy US jets

lastly, Australia may need to subsidise freight routes to countries, perhaps with trade deals, as there are many countries making cheap goods but shipping costs are the problem with these alternative sources

fish on!

Good post.

Pretty accurate summation. Aus is isolated so shipping costs are always going to impact cost of goods. Better still, change trend of manufacturing to becoming self-sufficient.

There is a benefit from Covid which exposed just how vulnerable we are to international events on every-day living. A question mark over our national security.

So its an opportunity to "reset" some of our national thinking. We should not waste it.

What's happening at the moment in se asia/western pacific is exactly what was happening in the 30s with a different aggressor (Japan).

Their Co-Prosperity Plan was a euphemism for Japanese domination and Belt/Road initiative is a euphemism for Chinese domination.

Aus relied on UK "alliance" which didn't eventuate with Churchill's strategy of "Europe First". Prime Minister Robert Menzies went to the UK to secure reassurance and came back more concerned about the wool price than Japanese obvious intentions and actions.

Aus is now relying on US alliance while the US is rabbiting on about "US First". Scott Morrison is rabbiting on about missles, planes, submarines etc like they were toys which they are if China gets really serious considering the difference in size.

With Aus relying on an alliance headed by Donald Trump who spends more time sacking people and fiddling on social media, we must surely have rocks for brains.

Sounds familar.

People who fail to recognise the errors of history are bound to repeat them.

We need to develop a nuclear capability.

We need to develop a nuclear capability.

Exactly. And soon.