How Australia navigates superpower rivalry

How Australia navigates superpower rivalry

Snipers shatter the silence of the Australian bush. Then the missiles hit, the smoke rising in the distance. The buzz of drones starts up, soon to be drowned out by helicopters flying overhead.

Every piece of hardware is being deployed, no expense spared. But this is no war zone – the last time Townsville saw conflict was during World War Two. This is a show of military might.

“ We live in a volatile world,” says Australian Army Brigadier Ben McLennan.

“Training an army to be prepared to fight a war that is potentially more likely than it has been previously, [is] very important.”

War is no longer an abstract concept for Australians who often feel removed from the problems facing other parts of the world. Thousands of miles from active conflict, the country, like everywhere else, is facing the knock-on effects of Iran and Ukraine such as higher fuel prices and rising inflation.

With China’s military capabilities also on the rise and its increasing influence in the Pacific, there’s also more concern about the threat it represents. Australia has responded by deepening its relationship with the US, its security ally and China’s rival superpower.

But that also puts Australia in a tricky position – for China’s rise has also given Australia its biggest trading partner.