FORMER Prime Minister of Australia Paul Keating warned that the AUKUS deal has unnecessarily targeted China and could have deadly consequences.
Speaking at a National Press Club event, Keating said the only way the Chinese could threaten Australia or attack it is on land, which he said is not possible as Australian troops could see them from afar right away and could easily sink the Chinese fleet.
“The only way the Chinese could threaten Australia….they are visible straight away on things see,” said Paul Keating, former Prime Minister of Australia.
The former prime minister also questioned how 8 nuclear-powered submarines, with the first 3 to arrive sometime in the 2030s, could stand against the military might of China.
“Buy eight, three are sea. Three are going to protect us from the might of China. Really?…appearing in the city Morning Herald particularly,” said Paul Keating, former Prime Minister of Australia.
Keating also gave his insight as to why China became a huge threat to the United States.
“China has committed in the eyes of the United States the great sin of internationalism…and that’s what China presents,” said Paul Keating, former Prime Minister of Australia.
Moreover, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned that the government’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines comes with a “very high risk” of failure and faces huge challenges since Australia is a non-nuclear country, although current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously promised the defense pact will create thousands of jobs.
Meanwhile, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the AUKUS deal was necessary to counter the biggest conventional military buildup in the region since World War II and to hand over a much more self-reliant nation for generations to come.
“We have to take the step of developing the capability to operate a nuclear-powered submarine so that we can hand over a much more self-reliant nation to our children and our grandchildren,” said Richard Marles, Australian Minister for Defense.
Keating made the lashing assessment a day after China warned the AUKUS member states to abandon the Cold War mentality when the leaders of the three countries revealed the details of the defense agreement in San Diego, California on Monday.
