Moscow-Beijing partnership ‘seeks to reshape world order’

Andrew Hastie has accused China and Russia of forming a ‘no-limits partnership’ in an effort to reshape the world order ‘and bend it to their liking’.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie has accused China and Russia of forming a “no-limits partnership” in an effort to reshape the world order “and bend it to their liking”.

Mr Hastie on Tuesday told the Henry Jackson Society Engaging Taiwan Conference that democratic nations must bolster their defence forces and be prepared to fight against authoritarian aggression. “Free peoples must be prepared to fight and defend themselves against an aggressor, as the Ukrainian people have boldly shown. They must also be prepared to defend others under attack and others that are threat­ened,” Mr Hastie said in a speech in London.

“We want a world where the weak are safe, but we also recognise that weakness is provocative, and so we must be strong.

“Hard power gives us the strength to prevail against the unjust. It deters aggressors. And it gives us a platform to champion our values and interests.

“Yet, we need more of it.

“Analyses suggest that the entire annual artillery production of the US would – at best – only last for 10 days to two weeks of combat in Ukraine.”

Mr Hastie, a former special forces captain, said the Russian invasion in Ukraine showed “authoritarian powers are on the move”. “They are always on the move. And looking to reshape the world order and bend it to their liking,” Mr Hastie said.

“The no-limits partnership agreed by Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin – on the eve of Russia’s barbaric assault on Ukraine – formalised an ambition to reshape the contours of the free world.”

The Henry Jackson Society hosted the two-day conference to “discuss how to stand up for democratic values and freedom in the Indo-Pacific”. Mr Hastie said last month’s meeting of NATO nations was a positive sign the West was willing to show resolve against Russia and China. But he said this was not always the case.

“Perhaps the economic costs of confronting these strategic realities have been too painful, as the war in Ukraine has demonstrated. Soaring gas prices. Food shortages. Big pressures on the cost of living,” Mr Hastie said. “These are tough domestic challenges for democratic governments and free economies. Back home in Australia, we’ve prospered from our openness to the global economy.

“But, in times such as this – and even in better days – there are pressure points that make us vulnerable to strategic coercion.”

Mr Hastie said there needed to be more defence co-operation between democratic nations.

“We must speak up for nations and individuals under the boot of authoritarianism, just as many of our nations have stood with Ukraine,” he said,

He said it was important the defence forces of democratic nations were held accountable for their actions, endorsing the Brereton Inquiry into alleged war crimes by special forces solders.