Dutton questions if Taiwan would ‘satisfy’ Beijing

In a hawkish speech , Defence Minister Peter Dutton has questioned whether occupation of Taiwan would be enough to “satisfy” China, or if it would look to take over other territories.

If China “pursues a path other than peace” there will be catastrophic consequences, but Australia needs to be able deter it “from a position of strength”, Defence Minister Peter Dutton has warned.

In a hawkish speech at the National Press Club in Canberra, Mr Dutton questioned whether occupation of Taiwan would “satisfy” Beijing or if it would look to other territories.

But he shied away from saying whether Australia would be willing to commit troops or take other physical action if relations between China and the US deteriorate further.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton addressing the National Press Club.

He said the current atmosphere in Australia’s region had “echoes of the 1930s”.

“The world would be foolish to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s. We live in times of high tension but the region is not on an inevitable path to conflict,” Mr Dutton said.

“Were conflict to come about through misunderstanding, through miscalculation or through hostility, it would be calamitous for us all.

“Australia’s position is very clear: conflict must be avoided.”

Mr Dutton said questions on whether Australia would commit a physical presence to any conflict between the US and China in Taiwan was “10 steps down the road”.

“If China takes a path other than peace – it’s catastrophic, I don’t want to see it,” he said.

“I’ll do everything I can to deter it and we’ll deter it from a position of strength, not weakness.”

The Defence Minister said Beijing occupied Taiwan, then it may also seek to take the Senkaku Islands which are the centre of a territorial dispute between China and Japan.

“Does the Chinese Government wish to occupy other countries? Not in my judgment, but they do see us as tributary states,” he said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gary Ramage

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Senator Penny Wong this week accused Mr Dutton of “playing politics and national affairs”, while also China’s economic coercion and flouting of agreements were “not the behaviours of a responsible global power”.

“Surely the real question is not, as he suggests, whether we declare our intentions, but why the Defence Minister is amping up war, rather than working to maintain longstanding policy to preserve the status quo,” Senator Wong said.

Mr Dutton said Australians expected their governments to “speak frankly” about challenges the nation faced.

“In my view, acquiescence or appeasement is a tactic that a cul-de-sac of strategic misfortune or worse,” he said.