China’s missile launch and Australia’s panic merchants

China's latest missile test triggered familiar warnings of an escalating security crisis, but was the reaction driven more by geopolitics than by the launch itself? This episode examines Australia's response, the role of the United States in shaping regional strategy, AUKUS, the growing contest for influence across the Pacific, and why China's primary audience was Washington rather than Canberra. We also explore the legacy of nuclear testing in the Pacific, Australia's relationship with Fiji, media narratives about China, and whether Australian politics has become trapped in a cycle of strategic alarmism instead of sober analysis. #AUSPOL  Subscribe to New Politics for weekly briefings and full analysis: www.newpolitics.com.au   Support New Politics: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpoliticsSubstack: https://newpolitics.substack.com  Song listing:‘La Femme d’Argent’, AIR.