Nov 10, 2021 • Former prime minister Paul Keating addresses the National Press Club discussing Australia's strategic framework and its role in the Indo-Pacific.
In his address, Mr Keating gave a scathing assessment of Australia's defence decisions regarding the Indo-Pacific region.
His remarks come after Australia scrapped a $90 billion French Naval Group submarine contract in favour of nuclear submarines in alliance with the United Kingdom and United States.
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
