October 29, 2026

During the 20th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting in Manila, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles once again trotted out the same old script: making unsubstantiated claims about "China's military buildup" and trying to use that as a pretext to push for closer ties among the so-called Squad - a small circle comprising the US, Japan, the Philippines and Australia.

What Marles is essentially claiming boils down to this: China's defence development amounts to "applying pressure," while Australia's own military build-up is about "upholding the rules." These are blatant double standards. The regional "pressure" narrative reads more like a tailor‑made talking point for exclusive defence cliques.

Yu Lei, a professor at the School of Northeast Asian Studies, Shandong University, noted that by making up claims about China's military, Marles is trying to force Southeast Asian nations to take sides. This seeks to erode the ASEAN-centric multilateral security architecture, replace Southeast Asia's open and inclusive regional order with bloc-driven confrontation and secure legitimacy for Australia's own military buildup.

Read more:

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1373254.shtml