THE SQUIZ
Chinese officials have warned that a plan for the US to deploy 6 nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Northern Territory could trigger a “regional arms race”. Following this week’s Four Corners on ABC TV, China’s Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian yesterday said it would undermine regional peace and stability. Not on the same page are our officials… Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh said he doesn’t believe any future visits from the huge aircraft will enflame tensions with China “at all”. And the NT’s Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison said the region is already a strategic defence location, and there’s no cause for concern.

HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT?
It’s a way of being finished – like 4 years off – but there’s a plan to build dedicated facilities for the giant aircraft, which have a combat range of over 14,000km and are capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional weapons. Experts say the move is designed to act as a deterrent to China, which is not taking a backward step in its regional ambitions. That includes growing concerns that President Xi Jinping is planning on forcibly taking control of Taiwan. The US Air Force says the plan to base these aircraft outside Darwin “sends a strong message to adversaries” about their ability to “project lethal airpower”. The $1.6 billion upgrade to the Aussie Airforce’s Tindal base (south of Darwin) to accommodate the planes is said to be part of a plan to host more US defence assets in Australia. And a major expansion of the secretive Pine Gap intelligence base near Alice Springs is also rumoured to be in the works.

SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED?
It depends on who you ask… Some experts believe it could lock Australia into joining the US in a conflict against China and make Australia “the tip of the spear” if a war broke out over Taiwan or whatever else. But Dr Malcolm Davis from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says basing the planes here would be a “sensible move” that would act as a nuclear deterrent and “dissuade China from using force to resolve territorial disputes”. But Tom Corben from the US Studies Centre reckons something bigger could be in the works… “You wouldn’t drop a billion dollars in infrastructure spending to support a 70-year-old aircraft that you’re phasing out over the next decade,” he said.