It's time Australia changed its China policy

The Australian media have been trying to hype the "China threat" theory - the latest example being a piece of fake news which says, "China will establish a permanent military base in Vanuatu" and claims the move will change geopolitics in the South Pacific. Another example is the reports, based on hearsay, which first surfaced about a year and a half ago, claiming China was buying political influence in Australia - which Beijing firmly refuted last year.

Although Australia claims to have "cured" itself of the Cold-War mentality, it still accords excessive priority to security over economic cooperation. For proof, one has to just look at Australia's Foreign Policy White Paper released in November 2017, which highly values the country's longtime partnership with the United States and views with suspicion the actions of China, its largest trade partner.

Australia, it appears, believes in the strategy of using both China and the US to maximize its security and economic interests, but the fact is that the strategy has hampered its long-term development.