Australia Speaks Plainly on the South China Sea

They say actions speak louder than words. So maybe Australia’s invitation to Japan to take part in U.S.-Australian war games in July and the lack of an invitation for China was a good indication of Australia’s disapproval of China’s activity in the South China Sea. But if that message didn’t get across (Beijing said it didn’t mind), in the past week officials from Australia’s Department of Defence made it clear in their strongest statements yet on the disputes.