The ball is in Australia's court when it comes to mending relations with China

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A day after the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy entered the South China Sea, ABC News on Thursday cited military observers that the tempo of Australian Defense Force activity in the South China Sea is high. And "there is a pattern associated with Australia's activities now [that is] very much aligned with the way in which the United States conducts similar activities." The report said that "Concerns are growing that a serious incident could soon occur between the ADF and the Chinese military."

"Australia's new government obviously hopes to continue to support, cooperate with, and follow the US in increasing its provocative military activities in the South China Sea, and challenge China's legitimate claims on the islands and reefs in the region," Xu Shanpin, an adjunct research fellow at the China University of Mining and Technology, told Global Times, "It is worth noting that Australia will not only continue to ramp up its political and diplomatic involvement in the South China Sea, but also increase its military involvement there."

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Willing to be a US plug-in? Canberra plays a very dangerous game: Global Times editorial

Last week, Richard Marles paid his first visit to the US as Australia's deputy prime minister and defense minister. In the four-day visit, he repeatedly advocated that Australia and the US should work together to contain China. Marles also said that Australia and the US will "move beyond interoperability to interchangeability. And we will ensure we have all the enablers in place to operate seamlessly together at speed." Marles' remarks suggest that he is ready to serve as a "forward theater commander" of the US.

Judging from the strengths of Australian and US forces, the so-called interoperability or interchangeability will undoubtedly be a one-way "operation" of the US to the Australian military, and the result will be a greater integration of the Australian military into the US global military system, driven by Washington. Just as some Australian media noted, Marles did not only degrade himself, but actually belittled the whole of Australia, which is tantamount to surrendering Australia's sovereignty to the US. The Australian Defense Force would then become a plug-in of the US, while Australia would become a forward base of the US military.

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