Noting the US spends almost twice as much on defence as Australia as a proportion of gross domestic product,Bolton said in an interview:“This is a time to build up ... I think Australia is in a unique position to play a more assertive role,certainly in Indo-Pacific security affairs than perhaps it’s been willing to play in a long time.”
Bolton said that,unlike during the Cold War,Western nations such as the US and Australia had entered a “tripolar nuclear world” where simultaneous attacks from two nuclear-armed nations – Russia and China – were possible.
“We are at risk of a Chinese nuclear attack right now,” Bolton warned bluntly.
The prominent China hawk said the AUKUS security pact with the US and the United Kingdom was not only a “huge breakthrough” but a “paradigm for other things that can happen in the region”.
The AUKUS nations should explore sharing nuclear-powered submarine technology with Japan while deepening defence ties with nations such as India,the Philippines,Singapore and South Korea.
“There are a lot of possibilities here,but there is no need to wait for Washington if Washington is not coming up with new ideas,” Bolton said. “I think for the new[Albanese] government it’s a huge opportunity.”
The United States’ track record in the Pacific had not just been bad but “embarrassing”,Bolton said,opening the door for China to expand its influence with nations such as Solomon Islands.