Anthony Albanese is about to get a hard lesson in the new global order: Trump’s America isn’t carrying freeloaders any more. The EU got the memo during the first Trump term: pull your weight on defense or American won’t be there to shield you from your own fecklessness any more.
After all, the US not only contributed more than its share of blood and treasure to save Europe from itself in WWII, but it spent even more money rebuilding the nation that had caused it all. Then it spent even more keeping the Soviet Union at bay – to little thanks from left-wing European moochers.
So, Trump gave them an ultimatum: lift your defence spending to at least the minimum required by the NATO treaty you signed up to or, the next time there’s trouble, you’re on your own. EU leaders quietly shat their pants. Many raised their defence spending to the required minimum of two per cent of GDP for the first time in decades.
Now it’s Albo’s turn to get put in his place. The question is, though: who is he more likely to side with: Trump’s USA or Xi Jinping’s China?
The Pentagon is reviewing the AUKUS partnership with Australia and the UK, saying it needs to ensure the agreement is aligned with Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda and noting it was an initiative of the former administration […]
In a statement provided to the Australian, the Pentagon confirmed the review – reportedly being led by Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby – was aimed at ensuring AUKUS served the best interests of the United States.
“The Department is reviewing AUKUS as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous Administration is aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” the statement said.
“As (Defence) Secretary (Pete) Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defence, and that the defence industrial base is meeting our needs,” the Pentagon said.
Allies step up fully to do their part for collective defence. Under Albanese, Australia is failing that test miserably. Instead, Albanese and his leftist factional hack, Defence Minister Richard Marles, are letting Australia’s defence capability fall into ruin, even as China becomes increasingly aggressive.
No wonder the Chinese Communist Party poured so many resources into getting Albanese re-elected.
Anthony Albanese will now come under increased pressure to obtain commitments of support for the AUKUS agreement at this meeting, with the Australian prime minister having already downplayed a request from Mr Hegseth to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP.
Downplayed? He treated Hegseth’s reasonable request with sneering contempt. Trump isn’t about to forget that when, or if, he deigns to meet with Albanese.
Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, John Lee, told the Australian he believed the future of the AUKUS submarine deal was in peril but that the agreement would not be abandoned.
He warned that low levels of Australian defence spending were clearly a problem for the Trump administration.
It’s a problem for all of us. Xi Jinping is no doubt delighted, though. So are the goons of the far-left in Australia.
The Greens have jumped on the US defence department’s newly announced review into the AUKUS pact to demand that Australia ditch the defence agreement and claim that the US would use this review to “terminate AUKUS and pocket the money already paid” or ask for more money from Australia […]
The “Labor against war” network says the Labor government should launch its own review into the AUKUS pact.
Are these leftist morons really ‘against war’? Or just ‘against anything that China doesn’t want’?
Maybe Anthony Albanese isn’t just a quisling for the Chinese Communist Party – but what would he do any different if he was?
