AUSTRALIA must find a ''godfather'' to protect it and cannot juggle its relationships with the US and China indefinitely, according to a prominent Chinese defence strategist.
The warning by Song Xiaojun, a former People's Liberation Army senior officer, comes after the Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, was told by his opposite number that Australia's close military alliance with the US was an outdated throwback to the Cold War era - an issue raised in two other meetings with senior Chinese officials.
Senator Carr yesterday met with the man expected to become China's next premier, Li Keqiang, in the closely-guarded Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing.
''Australia has to find a godfather sooner or later,'' Mr Song told the Herald yesterday. ''Australia always has to depend on somebody else, whether it is to be the 'son' of the US or 'son' of China."
http://www.smh.com.au/world/canberra-mu ... 1yp43.html
Today PM Gillard announced Australia had chosen the People's Republic of China to be its daddy:
BUSINESS groups and economists have welcomed the prospect of direct convertibility of the Australian dollar and Chinese yuan, which would cut foreign exchange costs and bolster Australia's growing trade with China.
The Coalition also said yesterday it supported a proposal by Julia Gillard, revealed in The Weekend Australian, to secure the currency deal with the Chinese.
The Prime Minister is expected to put forward the plan, to make the Australian dollar and Chinese yuan freely convertible, when she visits China this weekend, an outcome that would save Australian and Chinese businesses from having to deal in US dollars or Japanese yen when trading with each other.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationa ... 6609975522
