Britain is getting tough on China, while Labor is sapping our regional clout

Penny Wong and Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron at a tour of the Osbourne Naval Shipyards and Australian Submarine Corporation facilities in Adelaide.

Last month Australia hosted UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Canberra on back-to-back days. What those meetings told us about the future of the AUKUS accord should concern all Australians.

Anthony Albanese certainly isn’t a Labor icon like Ben Chifley or Bob Hawke when it comes to stepping up to meet our international responsibilities and defending Australia’s national values.

The Prime Minister’s best friend, his dog Toto, might be a Maltese, but Albanese after kowtowing to China is looking every bit the Pekingese Shih tzu.

By contrast, the UK has moved to strengthen its posture against China. The UK has come a long way on its journey with China. It had once welcomed Huawei – despite MI6 warnings – now it recognises China as a genuine security threat.

Last week, the UK claimed state-sponsored Chinese hackers are trying to subvert the electoral system and hack emails of MPs.

The UK sees the Pacific and the South China Sea and freedom of navigation as protecting the UK’s own national interests. Our own revered ASIO head, Mike Burgess, has issued the same warnings, yet Australia has had feet of clay when it comes to China. Wine deals are no replacement for our nation’s security.

Under both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, the UK is clear-eyed about the threat China represents. Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles look dreadfully compromised and weak by comparison. Add to this the genuine uncertainty that a second Donald Trump presidency could deliver by year’s end. Now more than ever it’s critical for AUKUS that Australia and the UK stay focused. The Ukraine war adds a further level of complexity for the UK.

I recently spent time in London talking to Labour people and other informed commentators as to what a Trump presidency would mean for Europe, and specifically the UK.

The general view was that Russia will fight on and that Trump would withdraw support in order to “do the deal”. America could well enter a period of extended isolationism if Trump secures a win over a fragile Joe Biden. It’s honestly not what Trump thinks of Kevin Rudd but rather his view of the rest of the world that should genuinely concern us.

The problem is Europe can’t possibly concede to Putin. This would see the UK and France, without a US backstop, having to lean further into supporting Ukraine against Russian imperialism. Starmer, on track for a thumping victory against the uber rich and simply out of touch Sunak, will inherit a war in Europe as he assumes office.

Anthony Albanese and Wang Yi

Albanese held meetings with Cameron and UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps and committed just $5bn out of the $360bn required to deliver our nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS. The reality is the program is already behind schedule. China’s Wang timed his visit to Beijing apologist Paul Keating to perfection.

It was beyond belittling for a serving PM from the same party to watch. Keating played the Placido Domingo role, giving out a Shanghai aria while pouring scorn on the AUKUS deal, as Albanese was completing another selfie op. We get that Albanese has always struggled with detail, infamously never reading cabinet papers fully. Instead, much like the voice referendum, he relies on equal parts bluster and “the vibe” to get him through, but the times actually require hard, detailed focus.

The world is a far more hostile place now than it’s been in decades. Russia is at war in Ukraine. Chinese imperialist aggression in the South China Sea and to Taiwan is coupled with Chinese corruption among our near Pacific neighbours. Finally, the devastating terrorist attack on the state of Israel has seen Labor under Albanese mouth the words and fail the actions.

We could and should be sending more money, guns and equipment to the brave Ukrainians. We should be unequivocal on standing with Israel against terrorism and we should be pulling our weight in our local sphere of influence against Chinese aggression. Instead, we are a funding laggard on Ukraine. We had a Foreign Minister unwilling to visit the October 7 massacre sites in Israel, but who was able to restore taxpayer funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, after it had members aid and abet Hamas in Gaza.

The Labor Party has a rich heritage of supporting international actions in defence of our nation’s values; now under Albanese we look insipid, weak and China-compliant.

Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer and Deputy Leader Angela Rayner.

As a nation our Anzacs went to the worst of the frontlines in France and Turkey. Two decades later we served again in Europe, flying Lancaster bombers and Spitfires while defending our own nation, first on the Kokoda Track and then with our US allies all the way back to Japan.

When Australia was called to support the first Gulf War under Hawke, we sent army, navy and air force personnel who served alongside US and UK troops. Under Albanese, when the call came against the Houthi attacks on vital trade routes we sent six pen-pushers and actually congratulated ourselves when we doubled the number to 12.

Defence Minister Richard Marles checked his speaking notes with the Chinese embassy when in opposition and uses the RAAF as an airborne Uber service. He loves working on his golfing handicap but is a defence dilettante.

Our PM is more comfortable getting “handsome boy” compliments than standing up for our national interests.

Labor under Albanese is trashing a history born of Chifley and Hawke who stood up for global values and freedoms because they are the very same we share as Australians.

The US is our greatest ally and the UK our oldest friend. We stand as the immediate beneficiary of AUKUS yet are its weakest link. Under Albanese, China will be most pleased with its handsome boy. Albanese is showing China he is in fact their very own “weak boy”.