Last night, I was able to chat with Eryk Bagshaw of The Sydney Morning Herald for a few minutes about the trade tensions between Australia and China. Here are a few of the stories Eryk has published on the topic:Farmers back Australia taking China to WTO over barleyAustralia to take China to the WTO over barley tariffs'Bad outcome': Australia to use coal strike to challenge China on emissions'Unacceptable': Australia accuses China of diplomacy by media over coal banAustralian coal blocked indefinitely by BeijingOne has to ask, "What is the endgame?"China is not Thanos. It will take more than a snap to get what it wants. Whatever that might be.Yes, Australia dared to ask a question about the origins of COVID-19, but compared to what Trump was throwing out there, it was pretty benign. Unless, of course, you want the world to bow to you. In that case, questioning anything can and will be used against you. China, economically speaking, has the power to put the Aussies in a tough spot. Not only did they stop buying barley and coal from our friends down under, but they have also kept buying the Aussies' top export, iron ore. As Eryk points out, there is nowhere else to send the iron ore. So, the Aussies can't bring in a new buyer to take it off their hands. They have to take what China is giving them and not giving them all simultaneously. Australia exports by nation 2019While there is nowhere else for Australia to send their iron, for now, maybe they could put pressure on China with price increases. China iron imports by country:Australia needs the Chinese to buy their iron, but China also needs Australia to export it to them. Top iron ore exporters by nationIt seems impossible for China to be able to find enough suppliers to replace what Australia provides at the moment. Of course, this is easy to type, but the real-world implications of raising the prices are much more nuanced. However, if Australia wants to put some pressure on the Chinese, they might have an angle. It would be risky, and I think it is unlikely, but something to consider. Regardless, we are still left with the question of what is China's endgame? Is it simply to get the Aussies to bend the knee and kiss the ring? Are they trying to drive a wedge between Australia and some of its allies? Something else? Whatever it is, they do have the upper hand today, but that could change. Australia is a market-driven economy, and if China does not prove to be a stable buyer of its goods then those markets could wither and go away. In this case, maybe Australia reshapes its economy and leaves behind the export items that China needs. If so, that is a large price to pay just to prevent someone from putting a Winnie the Pooh picture up. Things move slower than the news, it is just as likely that all is well in a few months. I still would think this will leave a bitter taste in the Aussies' mouth for some time. US Nuclear Weapons Agency Breached As Part Of Massive Cyberattack: ReportThe Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks as part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected at least half a dozen federal agencies, officials directly familiar with the matter said.On Thursday, DOE and NNSA officials began coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies after being briefed by Rocky Campione, the chief information officer at DOE.They found suspicious activity in networks belonging to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico and Washington, the Office of Secure Transportation at NNSA, and the Richland Field Office of the DOE.The hackers have been able to do more damage at FERC than the other agencies, and officials there have evidence of highly malicious activity, the officials said, but did not elaborate.The officials said that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has been helping to manage the federal response to the broad hacking campaign, indicated to FERC this week that CISA was overwhelmed and might not be able to allocate the necessary resources to respond. DOE will therefore be allocating extra resources to FERC to help investigate the hack, even though FERC is a semi-autonomous agency, the officials said.Nigerian military rescues 344 kidnapped schoolboysThe Nigerian military rescued 344 of the boys who were kidnapped during an attack on the Government Science Secondary School Kankara in Katsina state last week, according to Abdu Labaran, a spokesman for Katsina Gov. Aminu Bello Masari.Masari told CNN that children in a video released earlier Thursday that included the logo of the Boko Haram militant group were the same students who were kidnapped.A large group of men armed with AK-47s overwhelmed security at the school before marching more than 300 students into the forest.Boko Haram has previously attacked residents in the northeastern part of Nigeria and experts say the kidnapping marks a significant spread for the militant organization.Masari, however, denied that Boko Haram was involved in the kidnappings, instead blaming them on "local bandits." Masari also suggested that a voice in the video claiming to be Abubakar Shekau, a leader of one of Boko Haram's factions, was actually a bandit "mimicking" his voice.Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed the release of the children and described their safe return as "a big relief to their families, the entire country and international community," spokesman Garba Shenu wrote on Twitter.All of Sydney urged to be on 'high alert' as Northern Beaches coronavirus cluster swells to 28A cluster of coronavirus cases in Sydney's Northern Beaches area has ballooned to 28 confirmed infections as state and territory leaders move to impose travel restrictions a week before Christmas. Health authorities said genomic testing had confirmed the virus entered Australia from overseas, but health authorities had so far been unable to determine how it spread to the community.It is believed eight people were infected at a "significant seeding event" at Avalon Beach RSL on 11 December, with the first two cases detected on Wednesday. A further 16 of the confirmed cases visited Avalon Bowlo on 13 December, including two people who attended both events.Two additional cases were announced on Thursday before the cluster grew to 17 on that night.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday told reporters some of the confirmed cases were not residents of the Northern Beaches, warning of potential seeding throughout greater Sydney."Everybody in greater Sydney needs to be on high alert," she said. "I know that there are a lot of Christmas parties on at this time, a lot of social gatherings. Please consider what is essential."China puts tanks to the test in a mock street battle for TaiwanThe People's Liberation Army would deploy two of its main battle tanks in street combat in a possible war against Taiwan, according to mainland Chinese state television reporting on a recent military exercise.In a documentary aired by CCTV last week, Type 96A main battle tanks and Type 04 infantry fighting vehicles were shown engaged in a mock combat exercise.The weapons were designed to fight in the complex terrain of Taiwan's cities and counties, highlighting the PLA's belief that a street battle would be inevitable once troops landed on the self-ruled island.Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunited with the mainland – by force if necessary. This remains a key goal for the PLA and was the focus of the drill.The exercise involved a combat brigade from the PLA's 72nd Group Army based in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, and overseen by the Eastern Theatre Command.According to the report, 230 troops equipped with 30 tanks formed a red team to represent the PLA trying to attack a city complex defended by a blue team of 70 soldiers and six tanks.With cover from the tanks and amphibious vehicles, the red army seized the city in just under three hours after removing landmines, roadblocks and other obstacles posed by the drill's blue army, the report said.The exercise is a typical drill simulating conflict between the PLA and its Taiwanese counterpart, with the mock Taiwanese team appearing to take the geographical advantage only to be hampered by weak firepower and troops.The CCTV report said the drill aimed to help soldiers in the mechanised armoured infantry brigade lose "some bad habits" left by traditional mountain warfare training.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatchesfromthewarroom.substack.com