BLUF
Australia needs a whole of government approach to counter Chinese Grey-Zone operations in our region.Summary
Australia’s new submarines won’t arrive until about 2040. In the meantime, there are plenty of cost-effective ways to counter Chinese “grey-zone” activities in our region, including:
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Placing more emphasis on ‘shaping” our strategic environment.
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Using underwater drones.
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Developing different roles for the SAS.
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Expanding information warfare.
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Assisting regional partners through sharing intelligence, increasing maritime patrols and military and intelligence capacity building.
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Fully utilising existing resources through coherent and comprehensive strategies.
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Quietly providing direct operational support to neighbours facing coercion.
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Being culturally sensitive and tailoring hearts and minds activities that consider the diverse cultures in our region.
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Boosting aid and development.
The authors note:
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China hopes to gain military access to Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.
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Cyber-attacks are increasing.
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China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ 14 Grievances needs to be countered by Australia.
References
- May 2021 9News The escalating threat of "grey zone" warfare.
- Sep 2021 War on the Rocks the U.S-Australian alliance needs a strategy to deter China’s gray-zone coercion.
