It is disgraceful that any free nation would stand by while the Red Chinese invade and conquer and free and democratic state.
There's been a lot of confusion about ANZUS - some people have misunderstood the ANZUS treaty and come to the conclusion that this treaty obliges Australia to participate in nearly all US wars (and for that matter, vice versa). Many people are under the misapprehension that Australians served in Vietnam and in both Gulf Wars as a result of the ANZUS treaty. This is not the case.
ANZUS is a very specific treaty set up with a very specific purpose. It relates only to attacks on the territory of the signatory nations, or on their maritime assets, and only in some circumstances.
It has not been at all helpful for some people to try and claim that this treaty addresses issues that it does not address - and that has happened so many times.
All that the US has acknowledged here is that Australia is not obliged to automatically support the US in a war with China over Taiwan. That acknowledgement has been necessary only because some ill informed people have consistently tried to claim that ANZUS does oblige Australia to do so.
Acknowledging that the ANZUS treaty does not oblige Australia to become automatically involved in such a war, is not the same as saying Australia would not become involved in such a war.
ANZUS did not oblige Australia to become automatically involved in Vietnam. ANZUS did not oblige Australia to become automatically involved in the Gulf War of 1991, ANZUS did not oblige Australia to become automatically involved in the Iraq War of 2003.
But in all those cases, Australia chose to become involved despite there being no automatic obligation to do so. By the same token, ANZUS did not oblige the US to become automatically involved in Australian operations in East Timor.
But again, despite there being no automatic obligation for the US to become involved in East Timor, nonetheless, the US did provide significant support to Australian lead operations.
Australia was however obliged to go to war in Afghanistan under ANZUS - as that war was directly related to an attack on the mainland of the United States - which is one of the triggers for ANZUS.
The point is that all the US has done here is acknowledge that the ANZUS Treaty says what the ANZUS Treaty says - it's written down in black and white. Australia would not be automatically obliged to participate in such a war.
The only reason the US has had to make that acknowledgement is because of the media trying to stir up trouble - the US government has certainly always been aware of what ANZUS actually says - it's made this acknowledgement just so hopefully the media will now become less likely to misrepresent it all the time.
That does not mean Australia would not participate in such a war - as it did in Vietnam and in both Gulf Wars without ANZUS playing any role at all. It's just that participation is not automatic.
I know. Even worse is that there are people in our own country who would do the same thing (such as Hillery).