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Can you believe the Chinese? They test fired a nuclear capable ballistic missile into our region yesterday with barely any notice. I mean, as defense industry minister Pat Conroy told the ABC this morning, that's against the rules. It's not consistent with the Hague Convention on ballistic missile testing, uh, which would require more notice and greater information provided to, uh, countries. Not only is firing a strategic missile into the South Pacific with almost no warning against the rules, well, it's not best practice, either.
Well, we don't think it's world's best practice. Best practice is to follow the Hague Convention, uh, which, uh, it has longer notice, also provides information about a probable flight path, where the missile is expected to land, things like that that actually provide a lot more transparency. So, let's go through that best practice checklist one by one, shall we? Nations are supposed to provide 48 hours notice before conducting that kind of missile test. We got two. Nations are supposed to provide information about probable flight paths. We got nothing. Here's a good one. Nations launching missiles are supposed to provide information about where the missile is expected to land. So, where was the missile fired from a
nuclear-powered Chinese submarine expected to land? And more importantly, did it pose a risk to anyone? Uh, that's a question for them. I don't have information on that, Sally, but it's certainly not, uh, world's best practice. Well, it certainly doesn't seem to be world's best practice. Now, you'll forgive me. I just find it amusing in a dark kind of way that our politicians talk as if genuinely taken aback that the Chinese Communist Party isn't abiding by world's best practice. You know, like they do when it comes to honoring copyright law, trade agreements, health regulations, and human rights commitments. So, what do we do? So, we would continue to call on China to abide by the Hague Convention, which provides sort of instructions or
guidance on how to do these sorts of tests. Okay, Pat Conroy genuinely made me laugh when I heard him say that on the ABC radio this morning. We're going to remind the Chinese to abide by world's best practice when it comes to firing missiles at us. And if they need help with that, well, we're going to point them to the Hague Convention, which provides instructions and guidance on how to conduct these sorts of tests in ways that are non-provocative and non-threatening. Which would be brilliant if the entire point of the Chinese launch was other than to be provocative and threatening. Foreign Minister Penny Wong had this stern warning for the Chinese.
We do not believe this test is consistent with the view that Pacific leaders have very clearly expressed that this the Pacific should be an ocean of peace. We'll take that. Pacific leaders have very clearly expressed that this region should be an ocean of peace. Don't the Chinese know their warheads splashing down into the ocean of peace kind of ruins the vibe? If oceans of peace doesn't soften the heart of Xi Jinping, perhaps the Prime Minister's favorite catchphrase will. We have said consistently that we want to cooperate with China where we can. We'll disagree where we must. And we'll engage in our national interest.
It's true. We've consistently said that. And China has consistently ignored that. Which I suppose must be what the Prime Minister means when he says he's stabilized the relationship. Like his defense industry minister, the PM was hoping that pointing to a rule book would constitute some sort of national defense. It is standard procedure Uh, tests such as this for there to be given 48 hours notice. Uh, this was not done on this occasion.
Well, I tell you what, if the Hague Convention, best practices, and standard procedures were actual defenses, we'd be a world superpower the way our politicians expertly wield them in the face of aggression. Sadly, they're just pieces of paper. Speaking of paper, Chinese state paper The Global Times said in an editorial this morning that Australia and our ocean of peace partners should, and I quote, accept and get used to Chinese nuclear program. But wait, what about the Hague? Well, they're evidently a bit vague on the Hague. Writing in the editorial, Chinese actions were reasonable and lawful, fully demonstrating its sense of responsibility as a major power.
Well, I think they did demonstrate that they are a major power, that's for sure. And I think we all know that's the point. When you're a major power, you're not too bothered by world's best practice or by standard operating procedure. I mean, sure, you pay lip service to those things when it's convenient, but when those niceties get in the way of, I don't know, military expansion, you leave them to people like Pat Conroy and podcasters like Anthony Albanese. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure if you asked Xi Jinping whether he'd rather shag, marry, or date the Hague Convention, he'd say none of the above.
Someone needs to tell the PM's office they'd understand that. This line from The Global Times was telling. The editorial went on to say, the current complaints mostly amount to grumbling from operational level authorities. Um, that's life, isn't it? One day you're a handsome boy, next minute you're a grumbling operational level authority. The Chinese missile reportedly landed between Nauru and Tuvalu, just a hundred or so kilometers from where the Australian Prime Minister was today. And we know that because well, the splash. And that's the problem. Next time, do we know the impact location due to the boom?
Pat Conroy dismissed the suggestion that the missile launch was retaliation for the PM's security treaty signed yesterday with Fiji. This has been planned for longer than that, to be honest, Sally. It's We've been monitoring a Chinese Navy task force group that was involved in tracking the launch, and that's been in movement for quite some time. So, I think it's more likely to be coincident rather than uh linked, but obviously that's ultimately a question for the Chinese government. A question for the Chinese government?
What? And they're going to tell us? Like, honestly, isn't that a question that urgently needs to be answered by the Australian government? As former Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo said, there's a possibility, however remote, that details of the Australia-Fiji alliance and Albo's trip to Suva were leaked. There's also the question of how it was that we've been monitoring a Chinese Navy task force group involved in tracking long-range ballistic missile testing, but never realized it was a Navy task force group about to track a long-range ballistic missile test. If only a Virgin airline pilot had been in the region, our intel might have been better. They've spotted those things before.
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie summed up the whole situation pretty well, I thought. Weakness is provocative. Sorry, hang on a second. And he was talking about one nation. Here's Angus Taylor. The most provocative thing of all is weakness. Too right it is. The Albanese government deserves praise for what it's doing to unify South Pacific nations against the growing threat from China, but we need a lot more than that. One more thing. Remember how just last week Pat Conroy stood in the National Press Club and accused Sir Robert Menzies of being a Nazi appeaser?
Well, have a listen to this from Pat Conroy, less than 24 hours after communists fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile into our region with barely 2 hours notice. They obviously informed the Australian government about the test before they did it with insufficient notice to be honest, but they did provide that notice. When they're supposed to give 48 hours notice and they gave barely two, you don't give them credit.
