China last year spent 28 times LESS in Australia than at its peak - but vast tracts of the country are still under Beijing s control, including water, milk and power assets as well as the Port of Darwin.
The ABC would get $8 million a year to deliver Australian content to Pacific nations under a Labor plan to lift engagement and challenge China s expansionism.
Scott Morrison says an arc of autocracy from Beijing to Moscow is challenging the rules-based world order our ancestors fought to secure as he rallies Australians ahead of ANZAC day.
When Japan invaded Solomon Islands in 1942 the Allies lost thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen retaking one of the most strategically important locations in the Pacific.
China is expected to act act swiftly to establish a military base less than 2,000km from Australian shores after its security pact with the Solomon Islands was finalised.