‘Throwing Toothpicks at the Mountain’: Paul Keating Says Aukus Submarines Plan Will Have No Impact on China

THE GUARDIAN: Former Australian prime minister also says Britain ‘like an old theme park sliding into the Atlantic’ compared to modern China

The former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has denounced the US- and UK-backed plan for nuclear-powered submarines as “like throwing a handful of toothpicks at the mountain”, declaring Australia should avoid being drawn into a war with China.

The former Labor leader on Wednesday accused the major Australian political parties of losing their way on foreign policy, while dismissing the credibility of the UK’s “tilt” to the Indo-Pacific region.

“Britain is like an old theme park sliding into the Atlantic compared to modern China,” said Keating, who was Australia’s prime minister from 1991 to 1996.

Keating also played down criticism of China’s militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea by saying “big powers are rude”, and said it would be wrong to insist the increasingly dominant economic power could be only “a stakeholder” in a US-led system. » | Daniel Hurst | Wednesday, November 10, 2021


Australian foreign minister seeks to allay south-east Asia fears that nuclear submarines will stir up conflict: Marise Payne is visiting four countries in the region, including Malaysia and Indonesia, which have both raised concerns over Aukus deal »