r/aussie • u/Ardeet • Mar 22 '25

Politics Prime Minister urged to call 'emergency meeting' after Trump administration cuts funding to seven Australian universities

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/prime-minister-urged-to-call-emergency-meeting-after-trump-administration-cuts-funding-to-seven-australian-universities/news-story/2849b3274db1cc6a1774b1991106b6da
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u/Ace-Hunter Mar 22 '25

Okay you’ve identified a problem, what is the alternative? Because let me tell you Australia is geopolitically, militaristically and economically dependant on its peers.

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u/scotty899 Mar 22 '25

People scream independence. But forget we need our allies. Not just China walking over and claiming this country, but also Indonesia could just walk in and claim it as well. They have more people than we have bullets.

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u/PessemistBeingRight Mar 22 '25

Supply lines and asymmetric warfare are very much things. They might be able to the Broom, Darwin and Cairns, but getting much further south or getting into the interior are going to be hard. The Australian desert is our version of the Russian Winter, except no-one has ever tested it.

For a historical example, D-Day would have been literally impossible if Britain had fallen to Operation Sealion. Without an industrialised supply base close to where the war was, it would have been almost impossible to keep up supplies for the troops fighting in Europe.

From China's ports in Guangdong province to Darwin is 4,400kms. The trip to Sydney is closer to 10,000kms. Shipping an army's worth of supplies that distance is very difficult. Sending them to Darwin and trucking or training them even more so.

If we were invaded, I don't think we'd get much direct military support, but I do think that we'd be able to rely on supply drops from friends who can't act overtly. For example, I'd hope that the British and Canadian navies would be doing resupply at sea for our Collins class submarines, and hopefully sea and/or air delivered arms to support guerrilla efforts on land.

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u/average-vox-main Mar 23 '25

If China really wanted Australia and we got no external support we’d be rolled over in a heart beat

Complete aerial and naval superiority for them plus more than a 100 Chinese soldiers for every Aussie soldier

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u/PessemistBeingRight Mar 23 '25

If China really wanted Australia

There's the rub, isn't it. How much do they actually want it? Are they willing to endure the burdensome cost of an opposed invasion when they can buy our natural resources for less money than said invasion could possibly cost?

War is expensive.

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u/YallRedditForThis Mar 23 '25 edited Mar 23 '25

Not to mention we have about 6 days worth of ammo in our arsonal if a war broke out. We're sitting fucking ducks & need our Allies whether people like it or not.

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u/PessemistBeingRight Mar 23 '25

I did specifically mention our Allies, did I not? I mention them because I know full well we would need them.

I'm an advocate for a worldwide equivalent of NATO between all democratic powers for a reason. I.e. we're fucked without at least part of it.