Danger On Our Doorstep

Book excerpt: An unsettling assessment of how - and when - war with China might break out and the consequences for the world, from bestselling author and ex-major general the late Jim Molan What are Australia's options in confronting a rising and belligerent China? For the first time in nearly 80 years, war on our doorstop is not just possible, it is likely. Former army major general and Liberal Party senator Jim Molan fought wars, reviewed intelligence, participated in government and conducted business in hotspots across the world, making him an expert in evaluating risk and reward in perilous military situations. In this sober assessment, penned just before he died, Molan examines the present and growing danger of China's rise, not just to Taiwan, Japan and other countries in the immediate region, but also to the geopolitical balance of power as it has existed since the end of World War II. He suggests what China's endgame is, how war might start, what war with China would look like and, importantly, what Australia's best interests and options are. Acknowledging the increasing awareness of possible conflict, he stresses how important it is to prepare for the right war, not the war we would prefer to fight, or the one we think might never happen. PRAISE 'The Prime Minister should read Molan's book. It is chilling but a necessary statement of the truth that the region is heading to conflict and Australia is not well prepared to defend itself' Peter Jennings, The Australian 'Should be compulsory reading for all policy makers' Peta Credlin, Daily Telegraph 'Jim Molan grabs the reader squarely by the shoulders, swivelling him/her around to re-focus on the primary threat - in the Pacific. This book is confronting, like the threat it unveils' Russell Linwood, Sabretache, journal of theMilitary Historical Society of Australia