Australia needs to push China back “every time” in the South Pacific contest while Beijing only needs to win once to achieve its goal, warns the former head of Australia’s spy agency.
The comment comes as Australia and China continue jostling for influence in the South Pacific, with Anthony Albanese recently making his first trip as Australian Prime Minister to Indonesia, only days after Chinese Minister Wang Yi finished his tour to eight Pacific nations.
Dennis Richardson, who was Australia’s defence secretary between 2012 and 2017 and is a former director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), on Monday said Beijing would continue to press and challenge in order to establish its military presence in the Pacific eventually….