All-out combat' feared as India, China engage in border standoff Indian media says thousands of Chinese troops are believed to be inside the Indian territory along the de facto border. by Saif Khalid

On May 5, a scuffle broke out between Indian and Chinese troops at the Pangong Tso lake, located 14,000 feet (4,270 metres) above the sea level in the Himalayan region of Ladakh.

A video shot by an Indian soldier and shared on social media showed soldiers from both nations engaged in fistfights and stone-pelting at the de facto border, known as Line of Actual Control (LAC). The incident, which continued until the next day, resulted in 11 soldiers being injured on both sides.

Three days later and nearly 1,200km (745 miles) away to the east along the LAC, another fight erupted at Nathu La Pass in the Indian state of Sikkim after Indian soldiers stopped a patrol party from China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Both countries downplayed the incidents and the issues were resolved at the local commander level, as has generally been done in the past.

But in the weeks since then, the India-China border has seen soldiers from both sides camping along several disputed areas, with each side accusing the other of trespassing.

"China is committed to safeguarding the security of its national territorial sovereignty, as well as safeguarding peace and stability in the China-India border areas," the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

On Thursday, India's foreign ministry said it is in talks with China to deal with the standoff as New Delhi sidestepped US President Donald Trump's offer to mediate on the matter.

On Wednesday, Trump on Twitter said he was ready to "arbitrate their raging border dispute". It was the first time the US president had made such an offer.

"We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve this issue," foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.

"Our troops have taken a responsible approach towards border management and are following protocols."

China is yet to make an official comment on the border dispute.

Reason behind latest tension

There was no immediate comment from India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), but last week it accused the Chinese troops of hindering regular Indian patrols along the LAC.

"All Indian activities are entirely on the Indian side of the LAC. In fact, it is the Chinese side that has recently undertaken activity hindering India's normal patrolling patterns," MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.

About 80 to 100 tents have sprung up on the Chinese side, and nearly 60 on the Indian side, the Reuters news agency reported based on information from the Indian officials.

At least 10,000 PLA soldiers are now believed to be camping on what India claims to be its territory - Pangong Tso Lake, Galwan Valley and Demchok in Ladakh, and Nathu La in Sikkim, according to the Indian media reports.

On May 22, India's army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane dashed off to Leh, the capital of Ladakh territory which was carved out of Indian-administered Kashmir last August, to take stock of the situation.

With little information shared by the two countries, media reports have speculated on the reasons behind the latest border standoff. The tension might have been triggered by infrastructure activities carried out by India along the LAC, analysts say.

In the past 10 years, India has been boosting its border infrastructure, with new roads and airbases inaugurated in remote Himalayan areas.

The border skirmishes are not new to the 3,488km (2,167-mile) frontier between India and China, most of which remains disputed and undemarcated. But the de facto border has largely remained calm despite hundreds of skirmishes that occur every year.

'All-out combat'

Analysts fear the latest standoff may escalate, as Chinese trucks have allegedly moved equipment inside the Indian side of LAC.

China wants the border problem to linger; it keeps India off balance and prevents India from focusing its attention on Tibet, where China is in deep problem[s].

AJAI SHUKLA, INDIAN DEFENCE ANALYST

Ajai Shukla, a defence analyst based in New Delhi, fears that any further escalation would mean "all-out combat".

"Thousands of Chinese troops are on Indian soil. The only thing that remains for them is to engage in combat," he said.

"China could be using the excuse of construction activity to put pressure on India for completely different political or economic objective[s], and that we do not know. We do not know what the Chinese objectives are in this particular case."

Writing in the pro-Beijing Global Times newspaper, Long Xingchun from Beijing Foreign Studies University said the latest border friction was "a planned move" by New Delhi.

"India in recent days has illegally constructed defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region, leaving Chinese border defence troops no other options but making necessary moves in response, and mounting the risk of escalating standoffs and conflicts between the two sides," he wrote.

On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with the three services chiefs and the National Security Adviser amid the worst India-China border tensions since the 2017 Doklam standoff that continued for 73 days.

The Doklam face-off was triggered after Indian soldiers stopped the PLA from building a road in Doklam, which is claimed by Bhutan, a close ally of India.

Some analysts have suggested that the Chinese border assertion was a way to divert global attention from its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

'China doesn't need another confrontation'

But Adam Ni, director of the China Policy Centre based in Canberra, Australia, said both the countries have an interest in maintaining peace since they are facing domestic challenges.

Ni said Beijing has plenty of issues to deal with, such as Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and economic recovery - as well as its relationship with the US, which has taken a confrontational turn - to just a name a few.

"So it does not need another confrontation at this point in time," he said while appearing on Al Jazeera's programme.

India and China fought a war in 1962, but the border issues have lingered on, with Beijing claiming the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and New Delhi considering China-controlled Aksai Chin as its territory.

In the late 1980s, then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi held talks with his Chinese counterpart Deng Xiaoping in Beijing to reset the ties. Since then, the border had largely remained calm, with the two countries agreeing to formulate guidelines to manage the frontier.

In 1993, an agreement to maintain peace at the border was signed. Important confidence-building measures on boundary issues were further signed in 1996 and 2006.

Post-1990s, the two countries have focused on economic cooperation with bilateral trade going up to $92bn, but a large trade deficit has kept India concerned.

Last month, the Modi government put curbs on Chinese investments, a step Beijing called "discriminatory".

India's support for Tibet and its growing defence and security ties with the US, Japan and Australia have resulted in further suspicion from Beijing.

Meanwhile, China's increasingly closer ties with Pakistan - which has long-running disputes with India - and Nepal have not pleased New Delhi, either.

Moreover, China's ambitious Belt and Road Project and its massive defence budget pose a major geostrategic challenge to India. At $261bn, China's defence budget is more than three times of India's total of $71bn.

Modi-Xi summits

After Indian Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014, he has engaged with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

But analysts say the two Modi-Xi summits held so far, which called for moving beyond Doklam and "maintaining peace and tranquility" along LAC, seem to have come undone.

"China wants the border problem to linger; it keeps India off balance and prevents India from focusing its attention on Tibet, where China is in deep problem[s]," defence analyst Shukla said.

The last major border tension occurred in 2014, when Chinese troops reportedly entered Indian territory in Ladakh. The standoff was resolved after three weeks.

Will the current standoff be resolved at the local level - or will it escalate?

Manoj Kewalramani, a fellow in China Studies at The Takshashila Institution based in India's Bengaluru city, believes the present situation germinated from local-level frictions over patrolling and infrastructure development, which rapidly escalated.

"What's happening today does seem to have central guidance in China, with the leadership not wanting to appear weak on territorial issues. In that sense, this situation fits a pattern of the escalation in the South China Sea and Hong Kong," he told Al Jazeera.

China's Largest Base Has Replicas Of Taiwan's Presidential Building, Eiffel Tower Through satellite images, we explore China's premier large-scale training site that has some ominous and bizarre features. BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK

China has made massive investments in modernizing its military over the better part of the past three decades and has established new and improved research and development and training bases to support those efforts. The People's Liberation Army has fully embraced the idea of utilizing highly realistic facilities to prepare its forces for the sorts of environments they'd be likely to fight in during future conflicts, drawing significant lessons from the experiences of the U.S. military and those of its allies. The Zhurihe Training Base in remote Inner Mongolia is the largest of these sites and notably features a huge full-size mockup a portion of downtown Taipei, the capital of the island of Taiwan, including highly elaborate recreations of its Presidential Office Building and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There's also a cloverleaf highway interchange, a mock airfield and, bizarrely, a replica of France's Eiffel Tower.

Zhurihe, also known as the Zhurihe Combined Tactics Training Base, is China's largest training base by physical size. Observers have compared it, together with its adjacent training ranges, to the U.S. Army's Fort Irwin in southern California and that base's associated sprawling National Training Center (NTC). The NTC is home to a large number of diverse facilities that also give the Army room to conduct large scale unit exercises covering a wide variety of combat scenarios. As with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at the NTC, Zhurihe also has its own dedicated units to play the role of enemy forces during drills. These are known as the "Blue Army," a play on the Western term "Red Force" to refer to Opposing Forces during exercises.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) first established Zhurihe in 1957, primarily as a tank training base. Four decades later, Chinese authorities decided to transform it into a multi-functional "first-class" facility that would prepare its forces for "hi-tech battles” of the future. 

China's military leaders had closely watched the U.S. military lightning victory over Iraq during the First Gulf War in 1991 and already started to question the adequacy of the equipping and training of their own units. In 1996, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton’s sent a pair of carrier strike groups to sail through the Taiwan Strait in response to a major crisis between authorities in Beijing and on the island, which is seen as a critical event that contributed to China's subsequent decision to initiate a massive military modernization effort across the board, which included the expansion of Zhurihe.

By the mid-2000s, Zhurihe's facilities had significantly expanded in size and scope, with a heavy emphasis on features that would be used to prepare forces for what the U.S. military calls Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). By the end of 2014, it had further grown to include the Taiwan-related structures, as well as other features to support larger exercises, including an associated operational air base with a more than 9,000-foot-long runway to the northwest and a huge railhead to allow the rapid movement of vehicles, heavy weapons, other equipment, and personnel to and from the site. All of this is visible in high-resolution satellite imagery of the area that The War Zone recently obtained.

Zhurihe's main administrative center, which includes a full military hospital and barracks facilities, is at the northern end of the base. This is one of a number of areas that have seen substantial expansion over the past two decades.

It's interesting to note that there are no less than 20 basketball courts near the barracks. Despite its Western origins, the Chinese Communist Party, and the People's Liberation Army, in particular, have actively promoted basketball for decades, with the popularity of the sport notably surviving the Cultural Revolution. As a result, Chinese military bases are curiously easy to identify by the presence of basketball courts.

Zhurihe's main administrative and barracks facilities as of Feb. 11, 2020.

The railhead runs along the eastern edge of the base. It features a large reception building with a blue-topped awning over a large portion of the platform right in front of it. In China, as in many places around the world, trains remain a critical method for moving heavily military vehicles and other equipment around both for exercises and operational purposes.

The associated operational air base, situated some seven miles northwest of Zhurihe's administrative center, has also seen significant expansion over the years. At present, it has the aforementioned 9,000-foot main runway, as well as 28 separate helipads and numerous hangars. It also has six more basketball courts in its own not insubstantial administrative and barracks area.

Construction of this air base was in its early stages in 2011 and was still ongoing in 2013. Between the hangars, the helipads, and the space on the base's apron, there is a lot of room for tactical aircraft and helicopters to support fully integrated combined-armed training.

Also to the northwest of Zhurihe's main base, with its own dedicated access road, is an extremely heavily fortified compound encapsulated by four separate fences and walls with watchtowers at its corners. It's not clear what this facility's purpose is, but most of the structures inside appear to have garages, meaning it could be used to store particularly sensitive vehicles, such as transporter erector launchers for ballistic missiles. It might also serve as storage for equally important weapons, such as nuclear warheads. Alternatively, it almost has the look of a military prison or a place where very important officials could flee to in a crisis.

Zhurihe's most interesting, unique, and curious features are found at the southern end of the base. This is where the huge full-size realistic urban training areas, as well as a mock air base, are situated.

A satellite image of the Presidential Office Building, with the light green color roof, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the left down the street. in Taipei in 2018, rotated 180 degrees from true north for convenience. The layout of the structures in Zhurihe is not an exact match to those in Taipei. In the Taiwanese capital, the L-shaped building, which is the Taipei First Girls Highschool, is caddy-corner to the Presidential Office Building. A similar structure at the Chinese base is instead positioned directly across from the building similar to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Tapei section is one of the most elaborate urban training areas that we here at The War Zone are aware of. By itself, the recreation of the Presidential Office Building, a structure that is some five-stories tall with six-story high corners and a large central tower nearly 200 feet tall, is likely the largest of its kind anywhere in the world.

Beyond its functional purpose, Taiwan's Presidential Office Building also holds important historical significant force both the island and mainland. Japanese colonial authorities built it between 1912 and 1919 and severely damaged during World War II. It was restored under Nationalist rule between 1947 and 1948. Between then and 2006, it was also referred to as Chieh Shou Hall, which Chieh Shou translating to "Long live Chiang Kai-shek," in reference to the long-time Nationalist leader.

In many ways, the structure reflects the island's continued de facto independence from the mainland and its general history of it being outside of Beijing's control. As such, it's hard not to interpret the mock structure at Zhurihe as a particularly ominous sign of the Chinese government's intentions to bring Taiwan back into its orbit. Taking control of Taiwan's seat of power during an actual invasion would certainly be a top priority. The fact that China has invested heavily in actually trains on doing so against a full-scale mockup is quite troubling, although such a practice isn't unheard of. North Korea has a full-scale replica of South Korea's Blue House that it trains on. 

Further to the south, beyond Zhurihe's Taiwan-related structures, is a mock air base, the initial iteration of which was completed between 2013 and 2014. At that time, it had a runway around 3,900 feet long and two separate aprons, as well as various small structures. In 2017, extensions were made the runway at both ends, bringing it to around 10,105 feet. Gates are now in place that can close off these additions from the main portion of the runway and there are a number of more austere aprons along the northern end.

This simulated air base would be a very valuable asset to have in order to help People's Liberation Army units train to assault and seize control of enemy airfields. There are also three medium-size helicopters, two twin-engine turboprop transports, a single four-engine turboprop transport, and an airliner type jet aircraft to provide added realism. Some of these aircraft, especially the airliner, could provide space for specialized units to train to respond to hijacking and VIP protection scenarios, as well. The extended runway also means that the People's Liberation Army Air Force could land larger aircraft, such as the Y-20 airlifter, directly at this site for training purposes and fly in newer and bigger planes to use as training hulks.

By far the most curious and still largely unexplained structure at Zhurihe is a metal tower that, by every indication, is a sub-scale scale replica of the Eiffel Tower in France. Constructed sometime around 2010, it predates the Taipei section and the mock airstrip. 

The tower could be in use as a structure to support antennas or aerials and would offer a good field of view for line-of-sight communications in the area. The satellite imagery from February shows what appears to be a large wire linked to an upper section that could provide a hard link between it and a nearby structure.

It also appears to serve as an elevated view platform for commanders, Chinese VIPs, and dignitaries from foreign militaries observing exercises at Zhurihe. There appears to be four major platforms at different heights on the tower. It could even be used as a training aid for scaling large lattice structures.

https://youtu.be/vEm181j7xEw

China says wants 'peaceful reunification' with Taiwan

BEIJING (Reuters) - The head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Friday that “one country, two systems” and “peaceful reunification” is the best way to bring China and Taiwan together.

Outside attempts by foreign forces to interfere in “reunification” will fail, Liu Jieyi told an event at the Great Hall of the People marking 15 years since China signed into law its Anti-Secession Law.

Beijing passed the law in 2005 which authorises the use of force against Taiwan if China judges it to have seceded.

Xi's bullying has backfired so far but there's a good reason why he's trying again by Peter Hartcher

It doesn't seem to make much sense. China's President Xi Jinping tried to get tough with Hong Kong and Taiwan last year. The people in both places responded emphatically. They stood up to his bullying. They rejected his efforts to push them around.

The only thing Xi achieved was to alienate the smartest and freest Chinese populations within Beijing's claimed sphere. Many ordinary middle-class people were so incensed that they turned out to vote and to protest for the first time.

Xi's response? His regime has now made new threats against both Taiwan and Hong Kong. And formalised them in the executive's annual work report to the National People's Congress over the past few days.

"It's sad to hear," says the veteran Hong Kong-based political analyst Willy Lam, "a nation going down the wrong path". It also seems bizarre that Xi should want to persist on such a losing course.

When Beijing tried to force an extradition treaty onto Hong Kong last year, millions of Hong Kongers protested under slogans that were once considered fringe. Chief among them: "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our time".

And a newly energised fringe risked their lives to clash with riot police under angrier cries: "We burn, you burn with us."

A record 71 per cent of voters turned out at the district council elections in November to hand a landslide victory to the pro-democracy candidates and a stinging rebuke to Beijing's allies.

And Xi's tough-guy threats had the same effect on the 24 million people of Taiwan. By intimidating the island, he succeeded in electrifying the people to support his greatest rival – President Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

The Chinese Communist Party imposed a political freeze on contacts. It sent its military in ever-tightening circles of manoeuvres around Taiwan last year to reinforce its toughening diplomatic campaign against the self-governing democracy. And it has used economic coercion to try to break Taiwan's will. This included cutting the flow of mainland tourists to Taiwan.

All this was supposed to persuade Taiwan to unite with Beijing under the same "one country, two systems" formula that has applied to Hong Kong since 1997. Indeed, Hong Kong was supposed to be the test case, the pilot program to prepare the way for the real prize – Taiwan. To show the government in Taipei that it could unite with Beijing yet preserve a high level of autonomy.

So Xi's crackdown on Hong Kong last year was doubly stupid. It not only alienated Hong Kongers, it also showed Taiwan that Xi couldn't be trusted to deliver on the promise of "one country, two systems".

The Chinese Communist Party's pressure campaign backfired so badly that Tsai, who might have lost her re-election bid as her approval figures sagged last year, instead surged to a decisive victory in January with an improved share of the vote. Her winning slogan: "Resist China, Defend Taiwan."
Yet in the face of this wall-to-wall disaster for Xi, he has now launched a newly intensified campaign to do exactly the same again. But more.

Beijing's announcement on Friday that it would impose a new "national security" law on Hong Kong brought protesters back onto the streets in force for the first time since the advent of COVID-19.
Hong Kong is to have no input into the law, affronting the principle of a "high degree of autonomy". Democrats are describing it as the last gasp for the city's remaining freedoms. A petition signed by more than 200 current and former parliamentarians and policymakers from 23 countries has deplored the plan. These include 23 Australian MPs and senators to date.

While that is a travesty for the people of Hong Kong, another development in Beijing signals the potential for a tragedy of historic proportions. In the same work report, the Chinese Communist Party changed the decades-old formula that it always has applied to Taiwan. In stating its goal to absorb the island into China's rule, Beijing always pledges its commitment to "peaceful reunification". Friday's work report omitted the word "peaceful".

Beijing has never renounced the possible use of force to annex Taiwan, but always has emphasised its peaceful intent. At the very least, the changed wording is an elevated piece of rhetorical intimidation against the prosperous democracy. "They figure that it's more and more difficult to achieve reunification peacefully," says Lam. He points to the surge in activity around Taiwan by the People's Liberation Army in the last few months: "So this is real intimidation of Taiwan and also rhetorical intimidation."

Any armed effort to seize Taiwan raises the prospect that the US would mobilise to defend it. Australia would have to make a choice in the event of such a war.

But if all Xi's bullying to date has backfired so badly, why would he do yet more? "The Chinese Communist Party has no ballot box legitimacy so its legitimacy rests on two pillars – economic growth and nationalism," explains Lam. "Now that economic growth is so weak, nationalism is the sole pillar of Xi's legitimacy. That's why he's he taking a very tough line on nationalism, on Hong Kong, on Taiwan, on Xinjiang, on Tibet."

Xi's commitment to a bare-knuckle assertiveness in the name of China's historic revival has roused the deep nationalism of the Chinese people. Now that he has mobilised his presidency in its name, he is like the great white shark – he cannot stop moving forward or he will die. That's the only way it makes sense.

China plans to deploy two aircraft carriers off Taiwan for war games to stoke tensions with Washington as Beijing warns of a 'new Cold War' amid virus blame game

• China is reportedly sending its two new aircraft carriers into war games near the Pratas Islands, playing into fears that a Taiwan invasion could be next
• The Liaoning and Shandong are currently in Bohai Bay in the Yellow Sea on a combat readiness mission before the war ships head to the Pratas Islands
• The plan comes after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang expressed Beijing's desire to 'reunify' with Taiwan and as the US sanctioned 33 Chinese companies
• US-China relations have been worsening as both countries argue over the origins of coronavirus 

• China is reportedly sending its two new aircraft carriers into war games near the Pratas Islands, playing into fears that a Taiwan invasion could be next as tensions with the US continue to worsen.

  The aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong are currently in Bohai Bay in the Yellow Sea on a combat readiness mission before the massive ships head into the war games. The move comes after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang expressed Beijing's desire to 'reunify' with self-ruled Taiwan, an apparent policy shift. 

  The aircraft carrier deployment also follows a US decision to impose sanctions on 33 Chinese companies for helping Beijing spy on its minority Uighur population or because of ties to weapons of mass destruction and China's military. 

  US-China relations have been growing increasingly tense as more both dispute the origins of coronavirus. 

  

• Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned on Friday that the sanctions would risk 'a new Cold War', as tensions between both countries have escalated over the coronavirus outbreak, the Sun reports.

• The Trump administration has increasingly blamed China for its handling of the outbreak, while Beijing has accused some in Washington of engaging in propaganda.

  'It has come to our attention that some political forces in the US are taking China-US relations hostage and pushing our two countries to the brink of a new Cold War' Yi said. 

• A report released last week by the Council on Foreign Relations, a political think tank, sees possible military conflict between the US and China in the South China Sea likely in the next 18 months if, 'their relationship continues to deteriorate as a result of ongoing trade frictions and recriminations over the novel coronavirus pandemic.'

  Taiwan, meanwhile, has complained of increased Chinese military harassment since the coronavirus pandemic began, with fighter jets and naval vessels regularly approaching the island on drills China has described as 'routine'.

  The news comes after Taipei's independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen swore in for her second term this week and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated her for the re-election in a move that infuriated the Chinese Communist Party

• 

• Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned on Friday that the sanctions would risk 'a new Cold War', as tensions between both countries have escalated over the coronavirus outbreak. Yi is pictured at a press conference on China's foreign policy Sunday

• 

• The Trump administration has increasingly blamed China for its handling of the outbreak, while Beijing has accused some in Washington of engaging in propaganda. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at the White house Monday

• China says Taiwan is its most sensitive and important territorial issue, and has never renounced the use of force to bring what it views as a Chinese province under its control, making the Taiwan Strait a potential military flashpoint.

  Li, in his state-of-the-nation work report at the start of the annual meeting of China's parliament, said his country would 'resolutely oppose and deter any separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence'.

  China will improve policies and measures to encourage exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, and protect the well-being of Taiwan's people, he added.

  

  +6

  Speaking at the opening session of the National People's Congress on Friday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (pictured) said his country would 'resolutely oppose and deter any separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence'. Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as a province

  'We will encourage them to join us in opposing Taiwan independence and promoting China's reunification,' Li said. 'With these efforts, we can surely create a beautiful future for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.'  

  However, there was no mention of the word 'peaceful' in front of 'reunification', departing from the standard expression Chinese leaders have used for at least four decades when addressing parliament and mentioning Taiwan.

  Democratic Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by autocratic China. 

  A senior Taiwan official, however, told Reuters the absence of the word 'peaceful' did not signal a fundamental change in China's approach towards the island.

‘Prepare to be abandoned’: China seizes on Mike Pompeo’s ‘disconnection’ comment China’s state media has issued a fresh warning for Australia, after a TV appearance by the US Secretary of State sparked a diplomatic storm. by Gavin Fernando

China’s state media says Australia should “be well prepared to be abandoned at any time” by the United States, after a TV appearance by the Secretary of State sparked a diplomatic storm.

The Chinese government-owned Global Times newspaper urged Australia to side with China, drawing on recent remarks from Mike Pompeo that the US could “simply disconnect” from us at any time.

“Obviously, what is on the mind of Pompeo and his likes is only US self-interests, and Washington is not going to foot the bill for the lost Australian jobs,” the article says.

“Australia is already in a passive position in the face of wavering US policy. Canberra is forced to pick a side between Beijing and the Washington even when it is loath to jeopardise its relationship with China.”

On Sunday, Mr Pompeo spoke to Sky News Australia about a proposal by the Victorian state government to work with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“I don’t know the nature of those projects precisely, but to the extent they have an adverse impact on our ability to protect telecommunications from our private citizens, or security networks for our defence and intelligence communities, we will simply disconnect, we will simply separate,” Mr Pompeo said. “We’re going to preserve trust in networks for important information. We hope our friends and partners and allies across the world, especially our Five Eyes partners like Australia, will do the same.”

The remarks raised eyebrows in Canberra, and prompted the US embassy in Australia to issue a statement making clear the US had “absolute confidence in the Australian government’s ability to protect the security of its telecommunications networks and those of its Five Eyes partners”.

Based on Mr Pompeo’s comments, the Global Times report said “Australia should realise that the US views it only as a lackey”.

“The possibility that the US will not come to Australia's rescue when needed is nothing new,” it said. “While the US maintains its global hegemony by running roughshod over the interests of its allies, it does not offer any rewards.”

The report concluded by accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of “not taking the interests of people in each state seriously”, after the PM said the federal government had never supported Victoria’s involvement in the trillion-dollar project.

“Boosting employment and economic opportunities is one of the essential tasks for every government, especially local governments. As the US tries to block Victoria's BRI deal, what alternatives does the US offer?”

It’s just the latest in a series of targeted messages from the Chinese government.

Yesterday, the same newspaper warned Australia to “distance” itself from the US amid growing tensions between the two countries, saying it would be “extremely dangerous” for Canberra to get involved in a “new cold war”.

“If the Trump administration plunges the world into a ‘new Cold War’, forcing China to take countermeasures against the US and its allies, it would be extremely dangerous for Canberra to become a player in a diplomatic club led by the US, given Australia's high dependence on the Chinese economy,” the article said.

“Once Australia is regarded as a supporter of the US in a ‘new Cold War’, China-Australia economic ties will inevitably suffer a fatal blow.

“Australia's economic deterrent force is much smaller than the US', so China to some extent will enjoy more room to fight back against Australia with countermeasures if Canberra supports Washington … it means Australia may feel more pain than the US.”

The debate over trade has intensified as the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic becomes more pronounced.

The US, which is closing in on 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, is trying to pin the blame squarely on the Chinese Communist Party, while Beijing says the Trump administration is trying to keep it from becoming a global power.

Meanwhile, there have been reports China is considering targeting more Australian exports, with Chinese authorities reportedly drawing up a list of potential goods including dairy, wine, seafood and fruit, which could be subject to tariffs if relations continue to sour.