Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

World’s Best Practice Meets the World’s Biggest Bully.

Can you believe the Chinese?

They test-fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile into our region on Monday… with barely any notice.

I mean, as Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy told the ABC yesterday morning, that’s against the rules.

“It’s not consistent with the Hague Convention on ballistic missile testing which would require more notice and greater information provided to countries.”

Not only is firing a strategic missile into the South Pacific — with almost no warning — against the rules, it’s not best practice.

Conroy continued:

“We don’t think it’s world’s best practice. Best practice is to follow the Hague Convention which has longer notice, also provides information about probable flight paths, where the missile is expected to land, things like that actually provide a lot more transparency.”

Missile Best Practice

Let’s go through that best practice checklist one by one, shall we?

Nations are supposed to provide 48 hours’ notice before conducing that kind of missile test. We got two.

Nations are supposed to provide information about probable flight paths. We got nothing.

Here’s a good one. Nations launching missiles are supposed to provide information about where the missile is expected to land.

So where was the missile, fired from a nuclear-powered Chinese submarine, expected to land? And, more importantly, did it pose a risk to anyone?

Pat Conroy told the ABC:

“Oh that’s a question for them. I don’t have any information on that. But it’s certainly not world’s best practice.”

It certainly doesn’t seem to be world’s best practice.

Forgive me. I just find it amusing — in a dark kind of way — that our politicians talk as if genuinely taken aback that the Chinese Communist Party isn’t abiding by world’s best practice… you know, like they do when it comes to honouring copyright law, or trade agreements, or health regulations, or human rights commitments.

So what do we do?

Here’s Conroy again:

“So we would continue to call on China to abide by the Hague Convention which provides instructions or guidance on how to do these sorts of tests.”

Stern Words

Ok. Pat Conroy genuinely made me laugh when I heard him say that on ABC radio this morning.

We’re going to remind the Chinese to abide by world’s best practice when it comes to firing missiles at us. And, if they need any help with that, well… we’re going to point them to the Hague Convention, which provides instructions and guidance on how to conduct these sorts of tests in ways that are non-provocative and non-threatening.

Which would be brilliant if the entire point of the Chinese launch was other than to be provocative and threatening.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong had this stern warning for the Chinese:

“We do not believe this test is consistent with the view that Pacific leaders have very clearly expressed. That the Pacific should be an ocean of peace.”

Take that!

Pacific leaders have very clearly expressed that this region should be an ocean of peace. Don’t the Chinese know that warheads splashing down into the Ocean of Peace kind of ruin the vibe?

If Oceans of Peace doesn’t soften the heart of Xi Jinping, perhaps the Prime Minister’s favourite catchphrase will:

“We have said consistently that we want to cooperate with China where we can, we’ll disagree where we must, and we’ll engage in our national interest.”

It’s true. We have consistently said that. And China has consistently ignored that. That must be what the PM means when he says he’s stabilised the relationship.

Like his Defence Industry Minister, the PM was hoping that pointing to a rule book would constitute national defence:

“We point out that it is standard procedure for tests such as this, for there to be given 48-hours’ notice — this was not done on this occasion.”

If the Hague Convention, best practice and standard procedures were actual defences… we’d be a world super-power, the way our politicians expertly wield them in the face of aggression.

Sadly, they’re just pieces of paper.

China Defends Missile Test

Speaking of paper, Chinese state paper The Global Times said in an editorial yesterday morning that Australia and our Ocean of Peace partners should:

“accept and get use to China’s nuclear program.”

But wait. What about the Hauge?

Well, they’re evidently a bit vague on the Hauge, writing:

“China’s actions were reasonable and lawful, fully demonstrating its sense of responsibility as a major power.”

Well, I think they demonstrated that they are a major power, that’s for sure.

And I think we all know that’s the point.

When you’re a major power, you’re not too bothered by world’s best practice or by standard operating procedure.

I mean… sure, you pay lip service to those things when it’s convenient. But when those niceties get in the way of… oh, I don’t know, military expansion… you leave them to people like Pat Conroy and podcasters like Anthony Albanese.

I’m pretty sure that if you asked Xi Jinping whether he’d rather shag, marry, or date the Hague Convention… he’d say none of the above.

Someone needs to tell the PM’s office. They’d understand that.

This line, from The Global Times, was telling. The editorial went on to say:

“The current complaints mostly amount to grumbling from operational-level authorities.”

One day you’re a handsome boy, next minute you’re a grumbling operational-level authority.

The Chinese missile reportedly landed between Nauru and Tuvalu, just a few hundred kilometres from where the Australian Prime Minister was today.

And we know that because, well, the splash.

And that’s the problem. Next time, do we know the impact location due to the boom?

Australian-Fijian Security Treaty

Pat Conroy dismissed the suggestion that the missile launch was retaliation for the PM’s security treaty signed on Monday with Fiji.

“This has been planned for longer than that to be honest. We’ve been monitoring a Chinese navy taskforce group that was involved in tracking the launch and that’s been in movement for quite some time. So I think it’s more likely to be coincident rather than linked but that’s obviously a question for the Chinese government.”

A question for the Chinese Government? What… and they’re going to tell us? Honestly?

Isn’t that a question that urgently needs to be answered by the Australian government?

As former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo said today that there’s the possibility — however remote — that details of the Australia-Fiji alliance and Albo’s trip to Suva was leaked.

There’s also the question of how it was that we’ve been monitoring a Chinese navy taskforce group involved in tracking long range ballistic missile testing, but never realised it was a navy taskforce group about to track a long-range ballistic missile test.

If only a Virgin airline pilot had been in the region, our intel might have been better. They’ve spotted these things before.

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie summed up the whole situation pretty well, I thought:

“Weakness is provocation.”

Oh, hang on. Sorry. Hastie actually said that in relation to One Nation.

This was Angus Taylor yesterday:

“Weakness is provocation.”

Too right it is.

The Albanese Government deserves praise for what it’s doing to unify South Pacific Nations against the growing threat from China.

But we need a lot more than that.

One more thing.

Remember how, just last week, Pat Conroy stood in the National Press Club and accused Sir Robert Menzies of being a Nazi appeaser?

Have a listen to this from Pat Conroy, less than 24 hours after Communists fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile into our region with barely two hours’ notice:

“They obviously informed the Australian Government about the test before they did it. Insufficient notice to be honest. But they did provide that notice.”

When they’re supposed to give 48 hours’ notice, and they gave two… you don’t give them credit.

___

Republished with thanks to The James Macpherson Report. Images via screenshot of YouTube and Wikimedia Commons.