- 7/10/2025
Preparing for war_ The real reason China sent
China's recent military maneuvers are not just about regional power — they signal deeper strategic intentions. While official narratives cite “defensive readiness,” the real reason behind China’s moves is a calculated preparation for potential conflict, especially concerning Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Increased drills, weapons testing, and alliance-building show that China is positioning itself to challenge global influence, assert dominance in Asia, and prepare for any escalation with rivals like the U.S. It's not just posturing — it's preparation.
#ChinaMilitary #Geopolitics #SouthChinaSea #TaiwanTensions #PreparingForWar
China's recent military maneuvers are not just about regional power — they signal deeper strategic intentions. While official narratives cite “defensive readiness,” the real reason behind China’s moves is a calculated preparation for potential conflict, especially concerning Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Increased drills, weapons testing, and alliance-building show that China is positioning itself to challenge global influence, assert dominance in Asia, and prepare for any escalation with rivals like the U.S. It's not just posturing — it's preparation.
#ChinaMilitary #Geopolitics #SouthChinaSea #TaiwanTensions #PreparingForWar
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NewsTranscript
00:00Coming up...
00:01You don't have enough aircraft, you don't have enough ships.
00:04Ratcheting up the rhetoric.
00:06So we're already at war with China?
00:08Ask the Chinese, they'd tell you.
00:09Is it just Beijing bluff?
00:11You're going to lose.
00:12Our soldiers would be brave, and our weapons would be lesser.
00:15All real this time.
00:17Australia's very much on the menu.
00:19Our Chief of Navy has his say.
00:21There are a thousand ways to start a conflict.
00:24There's only two ways that it ends.
00:26That's next on 60 Minutes.
00:29In the increasingly less than delicate dance for dominance in our region,
00:34there's no denying China boasts superior force
00:38when compared with our military.
00:40It's an advantage they love to show off,
00:43like they did earlier this year
00:45when Chinese warships provocatively sailed a lap of Australia.
00:50But while Beijing sticks are impressive,
00:53their carrots are also proving to be effective weapons,
00:57especially when it comes to influencing our near neighbours.
01:01Chinese money has been buying plenty of friendship in the South Pacific.
01:06So what's the next step Australia should be taking
01:10as China moves closer and closer to our shores?
01:14It's dawn off the coast of Western Australia.
01:27In the early sun, these waters are vast and peaceful, for now.
01:33But we're about to find out just how perilous our ocean border has become.
01:42As we join the crew of the mighty Australian warship, HMAS Hobart,
01:48on a submarine hunting exercise.
01:53It's a very difficult mission.
01:55Obviously not being able to see where the enemy is
01:57and what the enemy's doing makes that really complex.
02:00Train up here right astern, thrust 20%.
02:02Train up here right astern, thrust 20%.
02:03Commanding officer Ali Withers is in charge of the ship,
02:06which carries 200-odd crew members and is armed to the hilt.
02:11GWS PIWO.
02:12Mount 51.
02:13Burst 1.
02:14Engage.
02:23So we're an air warfare destroyer,
02:25so our main armament on board is our surface-to-air missile system.
02:29So we've got a 48-cell vertical launch system
02:31with standard missile 2 on board.
02:34We also have a five-inch gun.
02:40We've got some smaller typhoon guns,
02:43as well as our torpedoes on board,
02:47and that's really the...
02:48They're our main armament on board.
02:50I know you're very focused on the day-to-day running of the ship
02:53and the exercise,
02:54but this security environment is tense and it's changing.
02:59Does that weigh on you?
03:00Yeah, absolutely.
03:01And for me, you know, my mission is to make sure that my ship
03:05and my crew are ready at all times to respond when we need to.
03:10The Navy's readiness was tested in February,
03:14when three Chinese warships sailed into these waters unannounced.
03:19It was a confronting sight,
03:21thought to be the furthest south the People's Liberation Army had ever ventured,
03:27stopping to conduct live fire drills in the Tasman Sea.
03:31The Chinese are signalling, they are practising and rehearsing,
03:36and they are collecting.
03:37This is the first time we've seen a task group from the PLA Navy circumnavigate Australia.
03:42That is true.
03:43For all the speculation and hysteria at the time, there's one man who knows how it all played out.
03:52The Chief of the Royal Australian Navy.
03:55Brilliant.
03:56Vice Admiral Mark Hammond is under more pressure than ever before.
04:01Beautiful morning.
04:02They were here expressing to the world their capability as a Blue Water Navy to deploy across the Indo-Pacific.
04:09So I think we will see more deployments like this.
04:13Tonight, for the first time, he's speaking publicly about what was reported as a total surprise to our military and authorities.
04:23But the Chief insists that wasn't the case.
04:27Were you caught off guard?
04:29No, we were aware of their approach through the Indonesian archipelago for some time.
04:36In fact, the Navy had been monitoring the Chinese ships.
04:40But once they crossed into international waters between New Zealand and Australia, our boats stopped following them.
04:48They did spend a little over three weeks in and around Australia's exclusive economic zone.
04:54They didn't spend a minute in our exclusive economic zone without one of our surface combatants monitoring their activities.
05:00Were they threatening us?
05:02There were no threatening interactions between our navies at all during that period.
05:07So why didn't they warn Australian authorities that were coming?
05:12Well, I don't think we always transmit our intent to deploy a ship to the South China Sea, for example.
05:18The Chief is understandably defensive and diplomatic.
05:22But there's no doubt the deployment exposed Australia's vulnerability.
05:27The Chinese have been very clear about what they intend to do.
05:30We just choose not to believe them.
05:32And Australia is very much on the menu.
05:35Retired US Marine Colonel Grant Newsham has strong views about China's visit.
05:43Grant spent decades heading up military intelligence in the Indo-Pacific and says Beijing is sending a clear message to Australia.
05:54So they're telling Australia there's more coming.
05:58So this is a deliberate, aggressive show of force.
06:02Yes, this is a very well thought out, well planned move with consideration of the political effects.
06:11While sailing around Australia, the Chinese ships held live fire drills in international waters in the Tasman Sea.
06:19And that's where it got really humiliating for authorities.
06:23The only way you knew about this was because a Virgin pilot heard about it and called in.
06:31That's correct.
06:32Correct.
06:33We had already ceased shadowing at that point because they were more than 100 miles outside of our exclusive economic zone,
06:39well and truly in international waters.
06:41And navies generally don't follow other navies around in international waters.
06:45It's clear the incident has put our defence forces on high alert.
06:50But for Grant Newsham, it's too little, too late.
06:55And the Chinese conception of war is very different than ours.
06:58We look at it as a 100 metre race where you go up to the line and you shake loose and then someone shoots the gun off and then the race has begun.
07:05So we don't see ourselves at war, the Chinese do.
07:08And to them, the shooting part is the last step.
07:11But the rest of it is this political warfare, the economic warfare, the elite capture, the propaganda, the psychological warfare.
07:20So we're already at war with China?
07:22Very much.
07:23Ask the Chinese, they'd tell you.
07:25If he's right, it's clearly a very different type of battle.
07:30And make no mistake, Australia's flanks are exposed.
07:35As you'll see, China has already dug in.
07:40The West dropped the ball and China picks up the loose ball.
07:44Deep in the South Pacific lies the beautiful and humble nation of Tonga.
08:00Made up of 170 islands and just over 100,000 people.
08:13With its coconut palm lined beaches and warm hospitality, Tonga is known as the friendly islands.
08:20And Australia, to the West, has always fostered that friendship.
08:25But now there's a better friend in town, China.
08:29This small island nation is at the centre of a tug of war between Beijing and the West.
08:36And you don't have to look far from the idyllic foreshore to see who's winning.
08:43From supermarkets to major infrastructure and government buildings like the striking St George Palace, China is firmly entrenched in day-to-day life here.
08:56So this is St George Palace.
08:58Why is it so important to Tongans?
09:01It's the Prime Minister's office, initial finance and immigration.
09:06And it was a gift from China?
09:08Indeed, it was a gift from China.
09:1020 million dollars?
09:12Yeah, over 20 million.
09:13Over 20 million.
09:14That's a lot of money.
09:15It is.
09:16Mm.
09:17Mm.
09:18Retired Colonel Siamelier Latu was Tonga's ambassador to China for five years.
09:25Now, he's Secretary General for the Tonga-China Friendship Association.
09:30And are there strings attached to that?
09:32There's no string attached at all.
09:34It's a free will, you know.
09:36It's an unconditional love.
09:38Unsurprisingly, Siamelier has only praise for his nation's close ties to Beijing.
09:45How would you describe Tonga's relationship with China?
09:49It's more than just a friendship, isn't it?
09:51It's more like brothers and sisters.
09:54What I mean by that is that Tonga and China, they have something in common.
10:01Chinese culture is almost similar, in a sense, to Tongan culture.
10:06Traditionally, Tonga's allies and partners were America, Australia.
10:11What happened?
10:12What changed?
10:14To be frank about it, you know, because the West dropped the ball and China picks up the loose
10:19ball.
10:20Do you feel you have to pick a side between China and the West?
10:24We don't have to pick a side.
10:26We are friends of all, enemy to none.
10:29However, we secretly know who to make friends to, you know?
10:40You can see the fruits of that friendship right across Tonga's capital, which is pitted with
10:46multi-million dollar gifts or grants from China.
10:50Like the new $55 million sports complex, where Tonga hopes to host international events.
10:58While just down the road, Chinese contractors are restoring the tombs of the nation's royal family.
11:04A revered job here, the last remaining monarchy in the Pacific.
11:10When it comes to foreign policy and alliances, who makes decisions?
11:14The final call under our constitution is His Majesty the King.
11:17Lord Whaka Fanua is a member of the royal family and the speaker of Tonga's parliament.
11:32It's a role that requires considerable diplomacy, which is perhaps why he says Tonga must embrace both communist China and the West.
11:44How would you characterise Tonga's relationship with Australia?
11:48I would say our relationship is one similar to that on the football field.
11:53We have a friendly rivalry, but it's one based on mutual respect and understanding.
12:01And Australia has a pivotal role to play as a regional power in the Pacific.
12:06And they have always been there for us in Tonga.
12:10Walking around the streets of Tonga, it seems like Australia perhaps hasn't been there enough.
12:16I wouldn't say China and Australia are competing as per se. It's not a zero-sum game.
12:23A lot of Chinese have migrated into Tonga and they've become Tongan citizens.
12:29And interestingly enough, if you go to the stores, a lot of them only speak Mandarin and Tongan, not even English.
12:37And so we find that there's a lot of similarity between our two cultures.
12:44Despite those similarities and beyond China's apparent generosity, Tonga is also a very visible example of debt trap diplomacy.
12:56This is the main street of the capital, Nuku Alofa.
13:00Most of this city was destroyed in pro-democracy riots back in 2006.
13:05And China stepped in, lending Tonga the money to rebuild.
13:10It's now a $190 million debt.
13:14That's roughly a quarter of Tonga's GDP.
13:17The loan is due by 2030, but for this small developing country, it's proving almost impossible to pay back.
13:27Can Tonga ever repay that?
13:29The loan philosophy of China is something like that.
13:31If you loan from me, $1,000.
13:34I said, okay, you pay me $100 a month.
13:37Then after two months, three months, can you come back?
13:41Can I delay paying my loan?
13:43Because my father has just died.
13:45Okay, delay for another three months.
13:47You're not worried about paying back this money to China?
13:49Well, we are worried.
13:50We have to pay.
13:51There's no way we can do it, you know.
13:53We have to pay and ask for delay for another couple of years, and then ask for another couple of years.
13:59And then the next request for delay, then China might come back and say, okay, pay the next year, and the rest is okay.
14:05Are there strings attached to China's money?
14:08No.
14:09No.
14:10There's no string of that.
14:11That's Chinese policy.
14:12But isn't Beijing buying the loyalty of the Tongan people, buying influence here?
14:19But they're not buying loyalty, you know.
14:21They treat people the same.
14:23Even big countries, small countries, they treat all the same.
14:31But as Tonga delays paying off its debt, China's presence in the country is growing.
14:38How many of the shops and businesses are owned and run by China?
14:43I think about 80%.
14:4680%?
14:47Or even bigger than that.
14:50So China is in every aspect of life and business here.
14:51They're doing shops, construction, hardwares.
14:55They're doing fishing.
14:56They're harvesting our sea cucumbers.
14:57They're running their own pickery farm.
14:58poultry.
14:59Poultry.
15:00Poultry.
15:01Poultry.
15:02Yeah.
15:03Yeah.
15:04Do you fear they have too much?
15:05Yeah.
15:06Too much.
15:07Yes.
15:08Yes.
15:09Do you fear they have too much?
15:10Yes.
15:11Do you fear they have too much?
15:12Too much.
15:13Yes.
15:14Yes.
15:15Do you worry that China is taking over Tonga?
15:16Yes.
15:17I do.
15:18I do.
15:19I do.
15:20I do.
15:21I do.
15:22I do.
15:23I do.
15:25It's a snapshot of what is a absolute opportunity in the country and the people that are
15:26a part of the world.
15:27If you're in a country, it's really a country of 0.
15:29do you fear they have too much control yes do you worry that China is taking over Tonga
15:40yes I do I do I do
15:45it's a snapshot of what's happening across the Pacific Australia has watched with
15:57concern as Beijing signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands and just a couple of months
16:03ago an agreement with the Cook Islands around economic development and maritime cooperation
16:09Chinese officers are embedded in police forces in Fiji and Vanuatu while Samoa has struck a deal
16:18to collaborate with China on security if he has enough infrastructure and influence in this region
16:25Xi Jinping can do whatever he wants can't he I don't think so I think as part of for Chinese
16:33policy is to respect our sovereignty yeah and you trust that I trust it
16:38the Australian government doesn't share Siomeli Latu's confidence and has been busy playing catch-up
16:53increasing aid and budget support for Tonga to 85 million dollars over the next four years and there's
17:03an important soft diplomacy game underway to this joint DFAT and NRL program goes well beyond sport I think
17:14it's important because we're talking about winning the hearts and minds of everyday people that is
17:20something that transcends geopolitics it's something that both Australian people and Tonga people love
17:27equally but Lord fucker for Noah says Australia still has a long way to go the diplomatic relations that I've
17:40personally experienced with Beijing is they have a very long term measured approach and forge lasting
17:50relationships so they play a long game they do play a long game they play very long game and as you'll see
18:00China is in it to win it coming up a dire warning to Australia you don't have enough aircraft you don't
18:08have enough ships you would lose when it comes to China's military and strategic ambitions few
18:25people have more knowledge and experience than former colonel jobo after more than three decades serving
18:32with China's people's liberation army or PLA Joe bow is eager to defend his nation's massive military
18:41build-up and acts of aggression in our region China has undertaken the most rapid military expansion of
18:48any country since World War two can you understand why that is a threat to a country like Australia no I
18:55don't think I don't think you're right at all on this point because I would argue in a different
19:02way that a China's rise has been unprecedentedly peaceful actually is a miracle in human history why
19:09does China need the largest Navy in the world if its intention is peace the China's intention is not a
19:15secret because we have made it quite clear that we want to build a world-class military being strong
19:22doesn't mean that you have to be a hegemon and this is not the case there is no
19:26proof that China is you know becoming a hegemon there is in fact plenty of proof
19:34that Beijing wants regional dominance combining its vast resources with soft diplomacy across the Pacific to
19:43embed Chinese dependency as we saw in the small island nation of Tonga but Joe bow
19:51insists it's simply good business isn't the end game for Beijing security agreements military
20:00alliances not at all for example with all these Chinese projects China of course will become
20:05influential right yeah that is for sure but it does not mean that you are going to establish a sphere
20:12influence then you would seek alliance then you would have allies then you behave like the United States
20:18yeah and you know having allies all together sometimes sounds good but actually it's a difficult
20:24job hurting the cats is never easy so why should China bother with establishing spheres of influence
20:30if it is already influential around the world so China doesn't need those those small allies I don't
20:38think China need any allies it's been described as the most challenging strategic environment we've seen in
20:43about 80 years chief of the Royal Australian Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond is all too aware of the
20:51growing threat as China's Navy expands and intimidates do you think they're preparing for war
20:59governments don't invest billions of dollars into military capabilities for no reason at all
21:06and the same is true of us the Australian government has committed to doubling the size of our surface
21:12combatant force and transforming our submarine capability because our assessment of the strategic
21:19environment is that this is a worthwhile investment in the national interest and alongside our allies and
21:26partners the collective maritime capabilities need to be able to deliver what we call a deterrent effect
21:35is that another way of saying we're not quite up to scratch at the moment so I would put it this way
21:41Amelia my my job as the chief of the Navy is to not rely upon a strategy of hope my job is to be a pessimist
21:48and to try and see the world for what it is not what I would wish it to be so my reflex to that
21:56responsibility is to assume that things will get worse not better and to ensure that the Royal Australian
22:04Navy is prepared in all respects for any challenge which may come our way within the resources allocated
22:10brilliant straight inside the chief is keen to show us they're well on their way today we're on the
22:18guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane which has just had a considerable upgrade when Brisbane goes to
22:26sea again she will be fitted for and capable of firing the naval strike missile which is one of the
22:32the most capable anti-ship missiles available right now and then in in late last year the Tomahawk land
22:39attack missile firing that conducted by this very ship so within 18 months we've transformed a very
22:45capable surface combatant into one of the most modern and lethal surface combatants I think we've ever
22:52operated while the unannounced appearance of a Chinese flotilla in Australian waters back in
22:59February has put our Navy on edge incredibly former PLA colonel Joe Bo says it served us right would you
23:10not describe that as an aggressive activity a show of force I'm glad you mentioned this because
23:17actually this kind of sailing by Chinese Navy would provide to you a chance of self searching of what
23:25you have done to China yeah if that makes you to think I think that is good for you
23:32he's referring to the Australian Navy's operations in the South China Sea sailing through the Taiwan
23:39strait to promote freedom of navigation which Beijing sees as a provocation so was that retaliation
23:47well I I think it's not a kind of retaliation but it just shows shows you first of all if you are
23:54talking about a law Chinese ships also have rights to do freedom of navigation but if you do not like
24:03this concept then think of what you have done to China yeah and then think about what China has done to
24:10you this is fair it's not very friendly is it to show up and do live fire exercises why wouldn't China warn
24:16us well is it friendly that you have sent aircraft and ships so close to China yeah to make all these
24:24provocations who did it first do not do unto others what you would not do to yourself right historic
24:33speaking you are always fighting other people's world right beating give a glibly beating Afghanistan
24:40yeah or even during the second world war you're always fighting other people's walls why should
24:45you always fight other people why would you always follow other people's footprint
24:50Australia has a proud history of defending democracy and Vice Admiral Hammond says that's not
25:02about to change while he hopes he'll never see his Navy's training and preparedness put to the test in
25:09the theater of war China's ambitions couldn't be any clearer the PLA is now routinely rehearsing a
25:20blockade of the Taiwan Strait practicing hitting key ports and energy infrastructure I'm all in on
25:27diplomacy and all in on determines but I have to be all in on defense of our nation and that begins with
25:36an assumption that despite everybody's best efforts we find ourselves in a conflict okay and there are a
25:45thousand ways to start a conflict there's only two ways that it ends and they are in my view you lose the
25:53national willpower to continue the fight or you lose the economic ability to continue the fight
25:59Jo Bo claims that China only wants peace and prosperity as long as it's on Beijing's terms and should
26:10tensions in the Taiwan Strait lead to war he has a grim warning for Australia if that conflict that we've
26:18been discussing were to eventuate who would win you would lose definitely you don't have enough aircraft you
26:26don't have enough ships and our military is growing by leaps and bounds and we are fighting our home turf and
26:34we are determined to safeguard China sovereignty on that you can imagine our soldiers would be brave and our weapons
26:41we are going to be able to do so let's hope it doesn't come to that hopefully yeah
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