Ex-Major General Jim Molan warned viewers that his compatriots could be forced to go it alone in the South Pacific. He told 4BC on Tuesday that classified war game exercises predict the US army would be defeated by the Chinese if tensions in the region led to full-blown conflict.
Molan said: “The Americans are in a rather crude form – they’ve had their ars** handed to them.
“They’ve been beaten in this series of war games.”
He added: “If the Americans do go in and try and attack Taiwan and they lose – and there is a fair probability that they will – then we [Australia] are on our own.”
The 71-year-old, who now sits as a Liberal Senator, championed the “brilliant and clever” Australian Defence Forces but claimed they would not be strong enough to defeat the Peoples’ Liberation Army.
“The ADF is so small… it will not last for more than a few days,” Molan said.
“It can’t fight hard enough. It’s not big enough, it doesn’t have the mass to defend this country.
“Even in 10 years’ time, we will have a military which is still not lethal enough.”
The comments came after Senator Molan told 4BC that “war is more likely than most people are prepared to admit.”
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In 2015, the Country Liberal Party, which is affiliated to Molan’s centre-right colleagues in Canberra, granted the Chinese state-owned Landbridge Group a 99-year lease for the port at the cost of A$506million.
Nonetheless, with direct access to the Pacific, Molan stressed the need for the Port of Darwin to be returned to Australian hands.
“Taking back Darwin”, Molan claimed, “would be an indication of self-confidence, of concern, of determination and of resolve.”