Australia will 'die a long, lingering death'

China will not do anything as "dramatic" as invade Australia but it will "choke" it by blocking the sea lanes and communication, according to Curtin University Professor Joe Siracusa.

"No one's going to invade Australia, no one's going to be coming through the Sydney head with combat troops - all they're going to do is just choke Australia by blocking the sea lanes and communication, and Australia will die a long lingering death," he told Sky News.

"But if the Chinese think that we're gonna declare war over them about their approach or about what happens in Taiwan; we're literally assuring the Taiwanese of a conflict they cannot win.

"It's sort of having an unintended consequence. A lot of the war hogs in this country think it's a great idea to defend Taiwan, but they don't have to."

Видео Australia will 'die a long, lingering death' канала Sky News Australia