Feb 16, 2022 06:14 AM
(This post was last modified: Feb 16, 2022 06:18 AM by C C.)
80 years after 'Australia's Pearl Harbor,' tensions with China are raising fears of another attack Down Under
www.businessinsider.com/tensions-with-china-raise-fears-of-another-darwin-australia-attack-2022-2
EXCERPTS: In February 1942, Japan launched the first of more than air raids on the city of Darwin in northern Australia. Darwin's location and the military bases there made it one of the Allies' most strategically important ports.
[...] 188 planes from Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers arrived over Darwin, Australia, and attacked the city and its port. They were followed about an hour later by a second wave of 54 land-based bombers.
It was the largest attack on Australia ever by a foreign power and the first of what would be more than 100 Japanese air raids on mainland Australia by war's end.
[...] For all of its military buildup, Darwin's air defenses were woefully inadequate. ... nine out of the 10 Allied planes that managed to take off to fight the Japanese were shot down. Japan lost just four aircraft.
At least 235 Allied personnel were killed, with 300 to 400 more wounded. The largest single loss of life came aboard the American destroyer USS Peary, which sank with 88 of its 144-man crew. Eleven Allied ships were sunk and 15 heavily damaged, with 30 aircraft destroyed. The city, harbor, and airbase were thoroughly wrecked.
[...] Australia's strategic environment has changed drastically since World War II. ... But eight decades later, Australia is again thinking about threats to its northern shores, this time from China. Relations between Beijing and Canberra have deteriorated, and China's military modernization — and threats — worry many in Australia.
China has an arsenal of advanced long-range missiles that is getting larger and more capable. In addition to its ICBMs, China now fields intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can reach Australia.
China's navy — the largest in the world — also has surface ships equipped with long-range missiles. China's small but growing fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines also carry missiles that can reportedly reach as far at 5,000 miles.
Chinese air force H-6 bombers with aerial-refueling support or flying from South China Sea islands may also be able to reach northern Australia with long-range missiles such as the CJ-10K or potentially hypersonic weapons. China's Xian H-20 stealth bomber, still in development, may be able to carry more ordnance farther than China's conventional bombers.
Australia is pursuing its own military modernization in response to these threats. It plans to buy or develop its own long-range missiles and to acquire 72 F-35 stealth fighters, at least 44 of which are already in service.
Military investment around Darwin is also increasing. The US has committed nearly a billion dollars to defense-related projects there. US Marines have deployed to Darwin for years, and the AUKUS security pact is expected to bring more US forces there in the years ahead — though a Chinese firm's lease of the port of Darwin has raised concerns.
Darwin "remains Australia's watchtower in the Indo-Pacific," Michael Gunner, chief minister of Australia's Northern Territory, said last year on the anniversary of the attack.
"This day reminds us that Darwin, and indeed the entire north of Australia, play an important role in the security and prosperity of this nation," Gunner said. "It was true then, and it is true now." (MORE - missing details)
www.businessinsider.com/tensions-with-china-raise-fears-of-another-darwin-australia-attack-2022-2
EXCERPTS: In February 1942, Japan launched the first of more than air raids on the city of Darwin in northern Australia. Darwin's location and the military bases there made it one of the Allies' most strategically important ports.
[...] 188 planes from Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers arrived over Darwin, Australia, and attacked the city and its port. They were followed about an hour later by a second wave of 54 land-based bombers.
It was the largest attack on Australia ever by a foreign power and the first of what would be more than 100 Japanese air raids on mainland Australia by war's end.
[...] For all of its military buildup, Darwin's air defenses were woefully inadequate. ... nine out of the 10 Allied planes that managed to take off to fight the Japanese were shot down. Japan lost just four aircraft.
At least 235 Allied personnel were killed, with 300 to 400 more wounded. The largest single loss of life came aboard the American destroyer USS Peary, which sank with 88 of its 144-man crew. Eleven Allied ships were sunk and 15 heavily damaged, with 30 aircraft destroyed. The city, harbor, and airbase were thoroughly wrecked.
[...] Australia's strategic environment has changed drastically since World War II. ... But eight decades later, Australia is again thinking about threats to its northern shores, this time from China. Relations between Beijing and Canberra have deteriorated, and China's military modernization — and threats — worry many in Australia.
China has an arsenal of advanced long-range missiles that is getting larger and more capable. In addition to its ICBMs, China now fields intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can reach Australia.
China's navy — the largest in the world — also has surface ships equipped with long-range missiles. China's small but growing fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines also carry missiles that can reportedly reach as far at 5,000 miles.
Chinese air force H-6 bombers with aerial-refueling support or flying from South China Sea islands may also be able to reach northern Australia with long-range missiles such as the CJ-10K or potentially hypersonic weapons. China's Xian H-20 stealth bomber, still in development, may be able to carry more ordnance farther than China's conventional bombers.
Australia is pursuing its own military modernization in response to these threats. It plans to buy or develop its own long-range missiles and to acquire 72 F-35 stealth fighters, at least 44 of which are already in service.
Military investment around Darwin is also increasing. The US has committed nearly a billion dollars to defense-related projects there. US Marines have deployed to Darwin for years, and the AUKUS security pact is expected to bring more US forces there in the years ahead — though a Chinese firm's lease of the port of Darwin has raised concerns.
Darwin "remains Australia's watchtower in the Indo-Pacific," Michael Gunner, chief minister of Australia's Northern Territory, said last year on the anniversary of the attack.
"This day reminds us that Darwin, and indeed the entire north of Australia, play an important role in the security and prosperity of this nation," Gunner said. "It was true then, and it is true now." (MORE - missing details)