- 3 months ago
- #realityinsighthub
Four Corners Season 2025 Episode 40
#
#RealityInsightHub
🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️
👉 Official Channel: https://www.dailymotion.com/TrailerBolt
👉 THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
#
#RealityInsightHub
🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️
👉 Official Channel: https://www.dailymotion.com/TrailerBolt
👉 THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00It's great to have the Prime Minister of Australia.
00:25A lot of friends over there, and this is one of them right here.
00:28And in about a year from now, we'll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that
00:34you won't know what to do with them.
00:36These once obscure minerals are now highly coveted.
00:42Increasing the security for the region and the world to take our relationship to that
00:50next level.
00:51So I thank you very much, Mr President.
00:52Well, thank you very much, Anthony.
00:54It's an honour to sign this.
00:55With deep reserves, Australia has become a global player.
01:00Well, Australia probably has the widest range of critical minerals on the planet.
01:07We're really working on anything having to do with military, ships, vehicles, guns, ammunition,
01:14everything.
01:15The US needs these minerals to power its economy and its military.
01:20But there's just one problem.
01:23China controls the market.
01:26While the rest of the world slept, China built end-to-end supply chains.
01:30Make no mistake.
01:32This is China versus the world.
01:36You might think we're all in with America.
01:38But we've discovered Australia is supplying China with a mineral critical for its most advanced
01:45weaponry.
01:47This basin north of Perth contains key minerals for hypersonic missiles and nuclear technology.
01:55It's really important for us to have an understanding of where our minerals go.
02:01At the same time, we're spending billions arming ourselves against China.
02:06The chances of conflict in this region are increasingly likely.
02:10And that means Australia is potentially targeted, in fact, likely targeted.
02:13The Dauphin 5C can strike any target around the world.
02:17The build-up of Chinese nuclear weapons is a pace and scale that we've never seen.
02:26And if hostilities go nuclear, Australian minerals will have once again played a part.
02:33We need to look at how does our economic and our trade policy support our security strategy.
02:39And we need to ask a lot of hard questions.
02:41Would China target those bases in the event of a conflict?
02:44If there is a war, definitely.
02:47In WA's remote northwest, the Indian Ocean collides.
03:17with this ancient landscape.
03:25Once a Cold War outpost,
03:27the North West Cape is now, more than ever,
03:30prized for its strategic value.
03:47We've come to RAF Base Learmonth, 1,200 kilometres north of Perth.
04:06This was a bare base.
04:08Normally bare bases don't have people.
04:10I'll have a caretaker, and that's about it.
04:12It's quiet right now, but that's changing.
04:17The Australian Government is spending $880 million
04:21to make this base battle-ready.
04:28What's going to happen is they're going to upgrade the taxiway
04:30so it's used as an alternate main runway.
04:33Showing us around is Wing Commander Greg Porsche.
04:37So, in effect, you'll have two runways here?
04:39In effect, yes.
04:42We can actually launch aircraft, refuel them.
04:46That extends the range,
04:48and therefore we can operate further north
04:49than what we would normally do.
04:51And that's what they mean by holding an adversary at length.
04:54What is it that's so strategic about this location?
04:58Basically, it's right in the North West.
05:00So, if you look at the map and you tilt it sideways
05:02or on an angle, what you'll end up doing
05:04is looking out across Indonesia,
05:06up into the South China Sea, China, that area.
05:09That area, that's the location of it.
05:13Is there a sense of urgency around upgrading this base?
05:17I believe so, yes.
05:19These bases haven't had a lot of work done on them
05:21in the last 35 years.
05:23It's a matter of bringing them up to speed,
05:25making them contemporary in order to operate the platforms we need.
05:28And is it a case that, once again, just like in World War II,
05:33this is now the front line?
05:35Yeah, it is very much the front line.
05:36We've operated in Afghanistan,
05:38we've operated in Iraq, multiple places around the world.
05:41This is about the homeland.
05:51As we discover, defending the homeland requires plenty of fuel.
05:55And you'll see the blast walls down there as well.
06:04Yep.
06:05And then you can see the fuel farm in the distance.
06:12Fuel is the bloodline of the airbase.
06:14If we don't have fuel on the base, we don't operate.
06:20This base is just one part of the deepening alliance
06:23with the United States.
06:25US defence documents show the Americans
06:28want their own massive fuel farm here.
06:32Its capacity would be 500,000 barrels of jet fuel.
06:37That's 40 times bigger than the current stockpile.
06:40We see advantage in the US being anchored in the Indo-Pacific region
06:47as a balancing weight against other forces in the region.
06:51Historically, we've enjoyed a 10-year warning time to conflict.
06:55We now assess that that warning time has evaporated
06:57and that we need to be ready-suited than that.
07:01Learmonth is one of five bases being upgraded
07:05across northern Australia.
07:07This redevelopment of bases, ports and barracks,
07:11costing up to $18 billion,
07:13is designed to counter the growing threat from China.
07:18So, Angus, this is our network of northern bases.
07:22They stretch from Learmonth, across in Western Australia,
07:25to Curtin, up near Derby.
07:28We've obviously got Darwin and Tingle,
07:30which is one of our main operating bases
07:32that accommodate the F-35,
07:34and also our NQ-4 Tritons.
07:38If they're under attack,
07:39then we need to be able to manoeuvre our forces
07:40across this network of northern bases
07:42so that we can survive.
07:43The Vice Chief of Defence, Air Marshal Rob Chipman,
07:54wants Australians to know the risk of a major conflict
07:58is real and growing.
08:00You can see how close China really is.
08:03And I guess you're directly up into the South China Sea,
08:05which is the sort of area of potential conflict, right?
08:08It's certainly an area that we think very deeply about.
08:13What Australia offers is strategic geography,
08:15a place that the US can base its forces
08:18and project firepower into the region.
08:30If the US ever goes to war with China,
08:33Australia will have little choice
08:35but to support our long-time ally.
08:37Two months ago, the world got a taste
08:39of how that war might be fought.
08:49CHOIR SINGS
08:52CHOIR SINGS
08:54CHOIR SINGS
08:57CHOIR SINGS
09:00CHOIR SINGS
09:02CHOIR SINGS
09:04CHOIR SINGS
09:06CHOIR SINGS
09:12If you want to defend peace,
09:14you need to be able to have one single
09:17seamless killing machine.
09:21CHOIR SINGS
09:29Is this the hypersonic?
09:31So this is a hypersonic missile,
09:32we're seeing a huge military buildup in China
09:35and the use of those military capabilities to bully areas in the region.
09:40See the range of nuclear missiles on display.
09:43We are entering a period where conflict is increasingly likely,
09:48potentially conflict over Taiwan,
09:50but there are other flashpoints in our region.
09:52And what that means for Australia is, for the first time since World War II,
09:57Australia is potentially targeted,
09:59in fact, likely targeted in the event of a conflict.
10:01I think anyone who's been watching...
10:03Jennifer Parker is a former operations director
10:06for coalition forces in the Middle East.
10:09She tells us this is the first time
10:11we've seen China's new arsenal of hypersonic missiles.
10:15This is a road-mobile hypersonic missile.
10:19If one was placed in the South China Sea,
10:21it could probably just reach the tip of Australia.
10:25But being a road-mobile hypersonic missile,
10:28it means it's hard to target, hard to find where it is,
10:31and hard to take it out.
10:34What are we looking at here?
10:35So what we're looking at here is actually really significant.
10:38It is the demonstration of the nuclear triad.
10:41So we've thought for a while that China had the ability
10:44to launch nuclear weapons from land, subsurface, and from the air.
10:48But actually, what we saw in front of us
10:50is the first demonstration of all of that together,
10:54and really the first confirmation from China
10:55that they have that ability.
10:58Whilst China doesn't have the amount of nuclear warheads
11:02anywhere near that the US has or Russia,
11:04the number of different delivery systems is phenomenal.
11:10All Western countries are a little bit behind the curve,
11:13given the massive military build-up, including nuclear build-up,
11:17that the Chinese have been engaging in.
11:19And that doesn't mean we need to be aggressive,
11:22but it means we need to be realistic about the nature of the threat.
11:26Happening at the same time as this global military build-up
11:36is a shadow race for raw materials.
11:39In this race, China is miles ahead,
11:42and it's not just because Beijing has greater mineral reserves.
11:46As we've discovered, Australia supplies China with one key commodity,
11:51vital for building hypersonic missiles, fighter jets,
11:55and nuclear-powered submarines.
11:57From a strategic perspective, critical minerals are really vital.
12:07The demand for them is rising,
12:10but for so many, China controls the market.
12:14While the rest of the world slept,
12:16China built end-to-end supply chains.
12:18This vast expanse of mineral sands north of Perth
12:31is rich in zirconium,
12:34an element vital to China's military build-up.
12:40Australia has the world's largest reserves,
12:43but China dominates processing.
12:50We're in the middle of one of the world's largest fields
12:54for heavy mineral sands.
12:58We've come to meet adjunct professor Ian Satchel,
13:02one of Australia's leading authorities on critical minerals.
13:08What's the significance of this area?
13:10Heavy mineral sands generally have come out of volcanoes,
13:15been worn down into sand,
13:17stirred by the sea and the tides
13:19over many, many millions of years,
13:21and not degraded.
13:23So they are very robust minerals.
13:26Zirconia has a wide, wide range of uses,
13:29everything from whitening our bathroom tiles
13:31and our basins and toilets
13:33through to sheathing nuclear fuel rods.
13:37China needs zirconium and lots of it.
13:44With a melting point of more than 1,800 degrees,
13:47it's used in the protective coating for hypersonic missiles
13:51that travel at more than five times the speed of sound.
13:56It's also a vital ingredient in the nuclear fuel cycle.
14:01Zircon exists in some places in abundance,
14:05particularly in Australia,
14:07but in other places like China,
14:09they have very little or none of it.
14:14Beijing clearly understands its strategic weakness.
14:19A study in May from China's National University of Defence Technology,
14:23a research arm of the PLA,
14:26spells out how vital zirconium is.
14:29It outlines zirconium's increasingly important role
14:32in new weapon systems,
14:34including hypersonic technology,
14:37aerospace vehicles and nuclear reactors.
14:40The paper warns China faces severe challenges,
14:45securing all the zirconium it needs.
14:51China did understand the strategic value of these minerals.
14:55China was getting very strategic about commodities
14:57back in the 1990s.
15:00Their companies have been encouraged
15:01to go overseas and find resources.
15:08China has put this strategy into action.
15:16Just two hours north of the Perth CBD
15:19is where a Chinese company
15:21with deep links to Beijing's defence industry
15:24purchased a stake in the ASX-listed image resources.
15:29Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board
15:31waved through the deal in 2015.
15:36If that deal was put forward today,
15:38would it be approved?
15:40It would certainly have much more rigorous scrutiny.
15:43From FERB,
15:45Australia has recently tightened up
15:47its FERB oversight of investments.
15:51And a number of Chinese investments
15:55have been refused or modified.
15:57The largest shareholder in image resources
16:02is China's LB Group,
16:04which is also the major buyer
16:06of its mineral sands virus subsidiary.
16:11It's just gone under the radar.
16:14Academic Vlado Vavoda
16:16studies the shifting geopolitics
16:18around critical minerals.
16:20It would be very difficult to argue
16:24that there is no state intervention
16:25and some sort of a control
16:28or leverage over these entities,
16:30even though they're,
16:31on paper, fully private.
16:34The level of state intervention
16:42is revealed in LB Group's
16:45Chinese company filings.
16:51Looking through the LB Group annual report,
16:54there's 11 pages detailing
16:56all the subsidies and assistance it gets.
16:58Now, I spent six years
17:00as a correspondent in China
17:01and I've never seen this before.
17:03And it really shows
17:04how closely connected
17:06this company is
17:07to the Chinese government.
17:11Its annual report shows
17:13LB Group enjoys a tax rate
17:15of just 15% in China,
17:18a generous discount
17:19due to its status
17:20as a strategic enterprise.
17:23It received grants
17:24for its production
17:25of nuclear-grade zirconium
17:27and special funds
17:29for its strategic innovation.
17:32Last year,
17:33it reported $85 million
17:35in Chinese government assistance.
17:40China puts massive amounts of money
17:43into research and development
17:44in the critical minerals,
17:46particularly if there is a need
17:49for defence
17:50and military applications
17:52where it could give China
17:54a level up
17:56in terms of strategic competition
17:59with the United States.
18:03In China,
18:04it's standard practice
18:05for civilian industry
18:07to be harnessed
18:08for military use.
18:14China has the military-civil fusion doctrine,
18:18which has been around
18:19for about 10 years,
18:20which puts commercial companies
18:24and commercial tech development
18:27under the control
18:28of the military.
18:32David Kilcullen
18:34is a military strategist
18:35and former advisor
18:37to the US Secretary of State.
18:39Do you think you can separate
18:43China's civilian nuclear program
18:45and its military nuclear program?
18:48I would say that basically everything now,
18:52not only in nuclear technology,
18:54but writ large,
18:55is dual use.
18:57And that's particularly true
18:58of nuclear capability.
19:00Big Chinese companies
19:01have not only
19:02a Communist Party branch,
19:03but in many cases
19:04a Chinese People's Militia branch.
19:07They are under very strict control
19:09by the Chinese Communist Party.
19:12And, of course,
19:13unlike a commercial firm
19:15in the United States
19:16or Australia,
19:17the difference
19:18between a Chinese commercial firm
19:19and a government-owned enterprise
19:20is basically one phone call.
19:27Image Resources
19:28is a smaller,
19:30more nimble company
19:31than perhaps
19:31some of our competitors
19:32at this time.
19:34Image Resources
19:35doesn't hide
19:36the potential military applications
19:38for its minerals.
19:39It's latest annual report
19:43states zirconium
19:45can be used
19:46in nuclear energy,
19:47jet engines,
19:49rockets
19:49and hypersonic vehicles.
19:53It's the newer,
19:55higher-end uses
19:56of these materials
19:57that are making
19:58the demand grow even higher.
20:00In a 2017 interview,
20:03Image Resources CEO
20:04Patrick Mutz
20:05talked up zirconium's use
20:07in China's nuclear industry.
20:09He said a related company
20:11was one of the few in China
20:12licensed to produce
20:14nuclear-grade zirconium
20:16for nuclear reactors.
20:19Mr Mutz
20:20declined an on-camera interview.
20:22In a statement,
20:23he did not address
20:24the possible military uses
20:26for the company's mineral sands,
20:28saying it sold
20:29small quantities
20:30to customers
20:31who further processed it
20:33for use in everyday products,
20:35such as paint,
20:37pigments
20:37and floor tiles.
20:39He said the company
20:40meets its government requirements
20:42and its mineral sands
20:44are covered
20:44by export permits.
20:46I think it's really important
20:50for us to have
20:51an understanding
20:53of where our minerals go
20:55and there are
20:57conflict minerals agreements
20:58about a number
20:59of different commodities
21:01and I think
21:01it's appropriate
21:02to be applying those
21:04to things
21:05that might be used
21:06for nuclear
21:06or missile production.
21:08It would be something
21:09that any Australian government
21:10would want to be tracking
21:11pretty closely.
21:12Australian zirconium
21:19isn't just going to China.
21:23Our research suggests
21:25it could be helping
21:26Vladimir Putin's war machine.
21:28The year Russia invaded Ukraine,
21:52its imports of zirconium
21:53from China
21:54surged
21:55more than 300%.
21:57LB Group,
21:58the largest shareholder
22:00in Australia's
22:01image resources,
22:02is a key player
22:03in this trade.
22:05In one 12-month period,
22:07it sold more than
22:08$5 million
22:09worth of zirconium
22:11to Russia.
22:14We need to look at
22:16how does our economic
22:17and our trade policy
22:18support our security strategy
22:20and in that
22:21we need to ask
22:22a lot of hard questions
22:23about what we are trading,
22:24who we're trading it with,
22:25what does that mean
22:27for their capability
22:27and what does that mean
22:28for vulnerabilities for us.
22:31Trade data shows
22:33the biggest buyer
22:33of Chinese zirconium
22:35in Russia
22:35is manufacturing giant
22:37CMP.
22:39It's an arm of Russia's
22:40state-owned nuclear corporation,
22:43Rosatom.
22:45CMP produces the cladding
22:47for nuclear fuel rods
22:48and the alloys
22:50in hypersonic missiles,
22:51the weapons changing
22:53how modern wars are fought.
23:00Hypersonic, by definition,
23:01just is faster than Mach 5,
23:03right?
23:03So faster than five times
23:05the speed of sound.
23:07But it's manoeuvring
23:09hypersonic missiles
23:10that can evade
23:12defensive systems
23:13that are the real
23:14sort of gold standard now,
23:16what are sometimes called
23:17carrier killer missiles
23:19that are able to,
23:20you know, penetrate
23:21the defences of a fleet,
23:23get in and sink a major ship.
23:35In terms of missiles
23:36and delivery vehicles,
23:38the US is only really now
23:39fielding hypersonic weapons
23:40for their Navy
23:42and their Army right now
23:43and their Air Force soon.
23:45So they are at least
23:45five years behind.
23:59The war in Ukraine
24:00is the first time
24:02these hypersonic weapons
24:03have been used in combat.
24:12Last year,
24:13Russia used
24:14its hypersonic missile,
24:16dubbed the Zircon,
24:17against civilian targets.
24:25Defence Minister Richard Marles
24:27understands
24:28the military uses
24:30of zirconium.
24:31He doesn't think
24:32tighter controls
24:33on Russia
24:34and China
24:35are the answer.
24:37Well,
24:37there are challenges
24:38in this space.
24:39I very much
24:40accept that.
24:42There are other sources
24:43of zirconium
24:44from around the world
24:45such that Australia
24:45withdrawing from
24:46the zirconium market
24:47would not mean
24:49that the military use
24:50of zirconium
24:51would also stop.
24:53We've discovered
24:54that a zirconium
24:55is being re-exported
24:57from China to Russia
24:58and is most likely
24:59being used
25:00as part of
25:01Vladimir Putin's
25:02war effort
25:02against Ukraine.
25:04Does that concern you?
25:05Well,
25:05I mean,
25:06I come back to the point
25:08that I made earlier.
25:09I don't for a moment
25:10think that
25:10an Australian
25:11withdrawal
25:12from this market
25:13would stop any country
25:14from developing
25:15their military capability.
25:17Doesn't it show,
25:18though,
25:18that Australia's
25:18sort of economic policy
25:20and its security policy
25:21in this instance
25:23are working
25:24at cross-purposes?
25:25No,
25:26but it does show
25:27that there's a complexity
25:28here for sure.
25:29We do engage
25:30with China
25:31in terms of trade
25:32and commerce.
25:33There are thousands
25:34upon thousands
25:34of jobs
25:35in our economy
25:36which are based
25:37upon that,
25:37and that has really
25:39been very important
25:40in terms of Australia's
25:41economic growth
25:42for decades.
25:42So,
25:43you know,
25:43you can't divorce yourself
25:45from that reality.
25:47Ultimately,
25:47at the heart
25:48of the question
25:48that you're asking
25:49is the fact that,
25:50you know,
25:51China is our
25:52largest trading partner
25:54on the one hand
25:56and it is
25:57our biggest source
25:57of security
25:58and anxiety
25:59on the other.
26:00And it's just,
26:00that is the way
26:01the world is.
26:02Beijing's Chang'an Avenue,
26:12the Avenue
26:12of Eternal Peace,
26:14divides Tiananmen Square
26:16and the Forbidden City.
26:24Now coming to us
26:26is the second
26:27nuclear missiles formation,
26:29the Dongfeng 5C...
26:31It's where China's
26:31communist party
26:32recently unveiled
26:34its growing arsenal
26:35of nuclear weapons.
26:37Can strike any target
26:39around the world
26:39with its extensive
26:41shooting range.
26:49For years,
26:50Australia supplied
26:51uranium to China.
26:53After record exports
26:55in 2017,
26:57trade data shows
26:57within a year
26:58those shipments
26:59suddenly ceased.
27:03It was around this time
27:05China stopped
27:06reporting key details
27:07about its stockpile
27:09of nuclear material.
27:14But it's not just
27:16uranium
27:17that China needs.
27:19Any country
27:21seeking to expand
27:22its nuclear arsenal
27:24also needs zirconium
27:26which is used
27:28in reactors
27:29to clad
27:30nuclear fuel rods.
27:39We've seen a doubling
27:40of China's nuclear warheads.
27:43So from about 300
27:45or just under
27:45five years ago
27:46to about 600 now,
27:48the estimate is
27:49it's going to be
27:49about 1,000 by 2030.
27:51Their breadth
27:52of capabilities
27:52to employ
27:53those nuclear weapons
27:54is actually much
27:55broader than the US.
27:56The build-up
27:57of Chinese nuclear weapons
27:59over the last five years
28:00is a pace and scale
28:03that we've never seen.
28:05Just having those nuclear weapons
28:06creates a significant,
28:09effective deterrent
28:11for China
28:12as it's building up
28:13its conventional forces.
28:14China doesn't like
28:23to talk about
28:24its nuclear weapons program.
28:27What the world does know
28:29is partly thanks
28:31to this man.
28:34We had seen
28:36some indications
28:37that they were planning
28:38for some sort
28:38of major expansion
28:39and we had heard
28:40rumours
28:41and some talk
28:41about the scale
28:42of that expansion.
28:44In 2021,
28:48Decker Everleth
28:49began searching
28:50for China's
28:51rumoured nuclear sites.
28:56You're talking
28:57about thousands
28:58of square kilometres
28:59of terrain
28:59to look through.
29:06After more than
29:07100 hours
29:08of scouring
29:08satellite imagery,
29:10he uncovered
29:10a field
29:11of nuclear silos.
29:13The infrastructure
29:14for launching
29:15intercontinental
29:16ballistic missiles
29:17or ICBMs.
29:21Other U.S. researchers
29:23later found
29:24two more
29:25silo fields.
29:29Combined,
29:30we're talking about
29:30320
29:32solid-fueled nuclear
29:35missile sites
29:35spread across
29:36three different
29:37missile fields.
29:38and that alone
29:40represents
29:41about a
29:42five-fold
29:42increase
29:43in the
29:44number of
29:45nuclear ICBMs
29:47China was
29:48fielding at the time.
29:52China believes
29:54that ambiguity
29:55is a
29:56deterrence
29:57mechanism
29:57that can work
29:58very effectively
29:59by
30:00basically
30:01obfuscating
30:02the exact number
30:03of launchers,
30:04missiles,
30:04platforms
30:04that they have.
30:05in the
30:06world.
30:06Professor Wang
30:08Yiwei is a
30:09former diplomat
30:10now with the
30:11School of
30:11International Studies
30:12at the People's
30:13University in
30:14Beijing.
30:16He says
30:16China's nuclear
30:17weapons build-up
30:18is a response
30:19to U.S.
30:20aggression.
30:22Why does China
30:23not talk about
30:24its nuclear program?
30:25Doesn't that
30:25add to the risk
30:27of miscalculation
30:28or destabilisation?
30:30China's nuclear weapons
30:31is very limited
30:32compared to the
30:32United States
30:33and now the
30:34United States
30:34want to put
30:35China,
30:36replace Russia
30:37for the nuclear
30:38disarmament
30:39negotiation.
30:40China said
30:41no,
30:41we are the
30:41second class.
30:42You are the
30:43achievable powers.
30:44It's your business.
30:44It's not China.
30:45It's the old game
30:46during the Cold War
30:47period.
30:50Decker-Everlef's
30:51findings clearly
30:52show the world
30:54is now dealing
30:54with three major
30:56nuclear powers.
30:58Now we are
30:59in a world in which
31:00we have three
31:01major nuclear states
31:02there are a lot
31:04of dangerous
31:05unanswered
31:06questions about
31:07how this is
31:08all going to
31:09work.
31:10Deterring in a
31:11multi-actor
31:12environment is
31:13completely different,
31:14much more
31:15complicated,
31:16much more
31:16dynamic and
31:17non-linear than
31:18just a straight-up
31:20mutual issue
31:21of destruction.
31:22It's rapidly
31:23expanding its
31:24nuclear arsenal.
31:25China's also
31:26working to
31:27further its
31:27effort to
31:28undermine
31:28American
31:29influence and
31:29alliances around
31:30the world.
31:31world, and we
31:31cannot let them
31:32succeed.
31:36Decker-Everlef, who
31:37works for CNA, the
31:39U.S. Navy's
31:40research body, says
31:41America is moving to
31:43counter China's
31:44nuclear expansion.
31:45the United States is
31:50investing in a
31:52sea-launched nuclear
31:53cruise missile
31:54to put aboard some of
31:57our nuclear submarines.
31:58Could they be deployed
31:59on the Virginia-class
32:00submarines that we will
32:02see rotating through
32:03Australia?
32:06Sorry, I am
32:07hesitating for some
32:08information quarantine
32:09reasons.
32:11I know the answer.
32:12I am just making
32:13sure.
32:16Yeah, okay.
32:17I will ask you that
32:18again.
32:19The nuclear
32:20cruise missiles,
32:21could they be deployed
32:22on the Virginia-class
32:24submarines that we
32:25will see rotating
32:26through Australia?
32:27Yes, absolutely.
32:28If U.S.
32:29submarines visit
32:30Australia, they may
32:31or may not be carrying
32:32nuclear weapons.
32:37Defence Minister
32:38Richard Marles
32:38says Australia
32:39respects the
32:41long-standing U.S.
32:42position of neither
32:43confirming nor denying
32:45the presence of
32:46nuclear weapons on
32:47its ships or
32:48aircraft.
32:57Australia's
32:58alliance with the
32:59U.S.
32:59is meant to
33:00protect us.
33:01But if a regional
33:02conflict goes nuclear,
33:04then Australia
33:05could become a
33:06target.
33:06If it escalates to
33:11a nuclear
33:12exchange, there
33:13are all kinds of
33:14sites in
33:15Australia that
33:16would be on an
33:17adversary's nuclear
33:18target list.
33:20Tyndall and
33:20Darwin would
33:21potentially be on
33:22that target list.
33:23So would Pine
33:24Gap, nuclear-armed
33:26submarines in port in
33:27Western Australia, for
33:29sure that would be a
33:29potential target as
33:30well.
33:32Would China target
33:33those bases in the
33:35event of a conflict?
33:35If there is a war,
33:38definitely, because
33:39you are the allies of
33:40the United States, and
33:41you have the military
33:43bases, particularly the
33:44nuclear submarines
33:46pose direct and
33:50serious threat to
33:51China.
33:51If there is a war,
33:52definitely China can
33:53attack.
33:57Two, three, we take
33:58off.
33:59Take six, flight.
33:59As the risk of nuclear
34:19conflict grows, the
34:21global arms control
34:22regime is breaking
34:24down.
34:34There are no real
34:35effective nuclear arms
34:36control agreements,
34:38discussions between China
34:39and the US, and part of
34:40that is because China
34:41won't really come to the
34:42table on talks until they
34:43see themselves on par in
34:45terms of number of nuclear
34:46warheads with the US.
34:47That is deeply concerning.
34:49On several occasions, the
34:56world has come perilously
34:57close to nuclear war.
35:00The US alone has
35:02threatened to use nuclear
35:03weapons on at least 25
35:04occasions.
35:06Melbourne physician
35:07Tilman Ruff and his
35:08colleagues won the Nobel
35:09Peace Prize in 2017 for
35:12spearheading a global
35:14campaign to ban nuclear
35:16weapons.
35:16No nuclear arms state is
35:18disarming.
35:19Instead, all nine are
35:21investing massively in
35:22modernising their nuclear
35:23arsenals.
35:25Their campaign paved the
35:26way for the Treaty on the
35:28Prohibition of Nuclear
35:29Weapons, known as the
35:31Ban Treaty.
35:32It's been signed by 95
35:35countries.
35:38In 2018, Anthony
35:41Albanese and Richard
35:42Marles publicly endorsed
35:44that treaty at the ALP's
35:46national conference.
35:48This is a Nobel Peace Prize
35:51awarded to an organisation
35:56made up of activists
35:58concerned about our place in
36:01the world.
36:04So, Labor took an important
36:07step at its national
36:08conference in 2018 in Adelaide.
36:10Labor and Government will sign
36:13and ratify the UN Treaty on the
36:16Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
36:18This resolution is Labor at our
36:26best.
36:28Championed by the current Prime
36:29Minister, Mr Albanese, Labor
36:32enshrined in its national policy
36:34platform, a commitment to, in
36:36government, sign and ratify the
36:39Treaty on the Prohibition of
36:40Nuclear Weapons.
36:42Richard Marles stood up to
36:44second that motion.
36:46We have today, before this
36:49conference, a resolution that we
36:51can all agree upon.
36:53We can all agree on the aim of
36:56the Ban Treaty to remove nuclear
36:59weapons from the world.
37:00Six months into its second term,
37:04the Albanese Government still
37:06hasn't signed the Ban Treaty.
37:09In 2018, the ALP National
37:11Conference agreed to sign or
37:14adopt the Nuclear Weapons Ban
37:16Treaty.
37:17Why has that not happened?
37:19Well, we have been consistent
37:23with our position in relation to
37:24this.
37:26I mean, that is a decision of
37:28Government and Government has
37:29been consistent in terms of its
37:32position in respect of that
37:35treaty.
37:35You said you were going to sign
37:36the treaty and you haven't done
37:37it.
37:39What's really clear is that the
37:41conference understands that this
37:43is a decision of Government and
37:46that is a decision of Labor in
37:50Government.
37:51And the decision that Labor has
37:53made in Government has been to
37:55follow the Non-Proliferation
37:56Treaty.
37:57And the NPT is at the
37:59core of Labor and Government's
38:02policy.
38:03Today, we have an opportunity...
38:05The NPT, or Non-Proliferation
38:08Treaty, is something entirely
38:10different.
38:10It seeks to limit the number of
38:13nuclear-armed states, not ban
38:15nuclear weapons.
38:16It's been Labor policy for more
38:19than 50 years.
38:21I don't argue that this is easy.
38:23I don't argue that it's simple.
38:25But I do argue that it's just.
38:27I commend the resolution.
38:33Anthony Albanese stood outside
38:34Parliament and campaigned very
38:36fiercely in opposition for support of
38:39that treaty.
38:39Surely that's a broken election
38:40promise.
38:41It's definitely not.
38:42If Labor had signed the ban treaty,
38:48Australia would be the first nation under
38:51America's so-called nuclear umbrella to
38:54take that position.
38:55It would mean nuclear-armed submarines or
38:58bombers would not be welcome here.
39:00The main obstacle has really been concern about
39:08the United States' reaction and opposition
39:10from the United States.
39:12Critics would say that in government,
39:15the US has lent on you and said that that
39:19treaty, the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty,
39:21is inconsistent with Australia falling under
39:24the US nuclear umbrella and indeed the
39:27ANZUS Treaty.
39:28Is that correct?
39:29That's not correct.
39:30I've not had a single conversation with an
39:34American counterpart about any of this.
39:36Critics might say that you taking that to
39:39national conference and advocating for that
39:41treaty was either naive or dishonest.
39:46Well, again, I don't accept that.
39:47And I mean, you know, this is an issue that had
39:50been worked through at length and we arrived at
39:55the position that we did.
39:56Do you think the age of disarmament and nuclear arms
40:06control is over?
40:09Yes, unfortunately, it really does seem to be the end
40:14of an era.
40:15At a time of weakened international cooperation, it
40:19significantly increases the urgency of getting disarmament, preventing nuclear war.
40:31Australia has a role to play in this new age of nuclear expansion.
40:36At the Tyndall Air Base south of Darwin, the US and Australia have been busy upgrading facilities.
40:45The runway is being extended, fuel tanks enlarged and ammunition dumps constructed.
40:52As Four Corners revealed in 2022, the centrepiece will be a giant expanse of concrete for six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers.
41:13We're seeing a transformation to actual operational basing, where nuclear weapons
41:24operation could actually be launched from Australia, particularly from B-52s that might be based in Tyndall.
41:31How does China view the stationing of B-52 bombers, American B-52 bombers in Australia?
41:39Well, definitely, it's a threat, personally.
41:42Second, I don't think China is so afraid, because China now has so many more advanced weapons.
41:50You can be the alliance of the United States, no problem, but not to do harm to China.
41:57Why are you against your most important client in the economic?
42:01In Chinese understandings, you are just used by the United States to against China.
42:05You are a scapegoat.
42:09As the world inches closer to a possible nuclear conflict,
42:13Donald Trump wants to cut a deal with China and Russia.
42:17We have the most nuclear weapons, Russia's second, China is actually third by a long way,
42:23but they'll be even within four or five years.
42:26And we are talking about de-escalation that's already being talked about.
42:37Look, I think we need to say that the chances of conflict in this region are increasingly likely.
42:42We are likely to experience significant loss of life if there was a conflict of not only ADF personnel,
42:48but civilian population.
42:50It means that the Australian way of life and this fundamental safety that we've all been born in
42:55would absolutely change.
42:56We're paid to be pessimists.
42:59We're paid to think about the world's worst days and make sure that we're prepared for those.
43:07And so it is natural that I worry about what might be in our future.
43:11The single organising principle of all Australian statecraft,
43:16diplomacy, military, economic, everything,
43:19for the next 30 years needs to be preventing a war between the United States and China.
43:24It's an issue for the whole of nation and the whole of society.
43:29So we all have to start caring about it.
43:31Fact is, it's something that we all need to be worried about.
43:59I'm not just going to hit the conference for the public schools.
44:03On the other hand, I'm your host, my second-roneed
44:06Ai-Nicorage team.
44:07I'm not just gonna talk about it.
44:08I'm not just gonna talk about it.
44:09Yeah, I'm not, I'm not.
44:11It's not going to talk about it.
44:12I'm not even looking at it.
44:14I'm not on the other hand instead of traveling there.
44:16I'm curious, you know,
44:18I'm not, I'm not sure someone else.
44:20Why am I not going to talk about it?
44:21I'm not.
44:23Bye.
44:24We're not.
44:25We're getting some time out.
44:26We're getting some time out of time.
Comments